The bus gate on Mill Road bridge continues to be one of the main topics people raise with me as a ward councillor for Petersfield, which includes the western half of the road. As a councillor, I’m committed to listening to all points of view and trying to help us all find a way forward that brings the community together.
So last night I attended a meeting at the Mill Road community centre organised by the group Cambridgeshire ACTION, whose website states that they are ‘a non-party political, grass-roots movement of citizens from across Cambridgeshire’ created for people with ‘concerns about the unfair, undemocratic and unwelcome decision making by the various tiers of local authority and other unelected decision-making bodies in Cambridgeshire.’
In the past they have campaigned against the closure of the bridge and promoted protests against what they call ‘this ridiculous plan to discriminate against all vehicles,’ so they are not a neutral body. However I felt it was crucial to be there to listen and to share what I know about the bridge closure. And the meeting was convened to discuss not just those concerns, but also the potential opportunities for Mill Road.
The room was full, with about 70 people present. It was a real mix of the community – residents, local shopkeepers, and organisations like Living Streets. I was there alongside my colleagues City Councillor Dave Baigent from Romsey and the new County Councillor for Romsey, Darren Green.
We heard from shop owners who are struggling and feel the reduced car
traffic is a major cause. Councillor Green provided some perspective
though, noting that his own restaurant business, which is not affected by
the bridge change as it is on Norfolk Street, was down by around 17%.
Others shared their personal difficulties just getting from one side of the
bridge to the other.
We were given a message from the new Combined Authority Mayor, Paul Bristow, confirming his intention to reopen the bridge by designating it a core transport route under forthcoming legislation and I shared the information I had that the Greater Cambridge Partnership has paused its feasibility study for bringing the Greenway up Mill Road following the Mayor’s announcement.
I also pointed out that the numerous roadworks at Sainsbury’s, on Perne Road, and on Hills Road are making vehicle travel in the area much harder at the moment and so we can’t just claim any issues are because of the bridge closure.
While many people were focused on issues they believe are caused by the closure there was also discussion of ways to improve the area, such as getting rid of pavement parking and improving the general environment.
My main point to the meeting was that at the moment we don’t have enough information about the real impact of the restrictions. When the County Council committee made the decision, I had argued for more comprehensive data to be collected beforehand to truly understand the impact. I also asked for the restrictions to be for fewer hours rather than 24/7, and for a six-month review once they were in place.
In the end the committee decided to review the situation after two years. I still believe that is too long, and so I suggested to the meeting that we as a community should ask the County Council for an interim one-year review. In the lead-up to that we can all work to collect information on all aspects of the areas, including shops and restaurants that are struggling and those that are doing well, on the difficulties people face and the ways their lives have been improved.
Rather than taking either extreme position here, we can look at the actual situation and see whether we can design a set of restrictions on using the bridge that will give the maximum benefit and cause the fewest issues for our community. That could involve changes to the operating period of the bus gate, changes to the motor traffic that is allowed, or rethinking the road layout. I don’t have the answer but I do know that without comprehensive data we are unlikely to come up with one.