At the Cambridge Joint Area Committee at the Guildhall on Wednesday 11 June the main agenda item was the “Traffic Regulation Order objections associated with the introduction of the York Street area Residents Parking Scheme”.
The whole agenda and papers can be seen on the council website.
The discussion was around a recommendation that “the Executive Director of Place and Sustainability, in consultation with the Local Member, approves the implementation of the York Street area RPS, as published.” You can see the details here.
It was a constructive debate, with public questions from residents of York Street, Fairsford Place, Sleaford Street and Ainsworth Street, which officers answered and members sought clarification on.
In the end we decided to defer the item to the next September 2025 committee meeting. I seconded this proposal and asked that members and officers work quickly and efficiently to deal with the concerns raised and provide further information.
The particular concerns raised were:
- The proposed time period of the scheme.
- The meaningful six months review, how this would be carried out and how comments would be collected.
- Data that Ainsworth Street residents have asked for but not yet received.
- A need to engage with residents of Fairford Place and nearby residents in Abbey Walk to consider the cul de sac nature of Fairsford Place, the lack of pavement or on-plot parking, and the severe pavement parking problems in that area.
- Consideration of possible road calming measures.
So for the moment nothing has changed, and parking provision is the same. If we get the information and changes we are looking for then the scheme may be approved in the autumn and would come into effect a few months later.
The committee that discussed this, CJAC, is a joint committee of Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridge City Council. You can find out about it here.
It’s needed because of the overlapping areas of responsibility between County and City but this will change when we move to a unitary authority in the next few years. When that happens it will be important that City councillors like me are still able to bring their deep local knowledge to bear on these important discussions.
Earlier this week Council leaders announced they have identified three preferred options for the reorganisation, and it’s worth looking at them closely.