Cambridge is a historic University City that has become an international centre for high tech and biomedical developments. The area is one of the fastest growing in Britain and population and employment pressures are set to continue. Additionally, the city attracts 3 million tourist visitors each year and is an expanding Sub-Regional shopping centre. The dispersed nature of existing development around the City and the medieval street pattern has generated major traffic pressures, which have been seriously detracting from the City's environment. Although there has been a long standing tradition of encouraging cycling, it was only in the 1990s that the County Council embarked on a strategy of physically limiting access by car to the City centre balanced with the provision of real alternative modes, in particular high quality Park and Ride. This strategy has resulted in significant reductions in car traffic in the city centre and a real increase in public transport use. The paper focuses on the delivery and effects of: City Centre Traffic Restraint - the Cambridge Core Scheme; high quality park and ride; bus priority measures and enhanced bus services; new cycling facilities; enhancements to the environment for pedestrians; TravelWise campaigns; and parking control policies and pricing. The paper explains through specific examples how partnership working and consensus building with stakeholders has enabled the Cambridge Access Strategy to be delivered. Examples include: the consultative process used to develop each stage of the Cambridge Core scheme; Integration Day - linking the introduction of traffic restraint with the opening of a Park and Ride site; and implementation of bus priority measures to demonstrate the joined up thinking in the strategy. The overall impact of the strategy on traffic levels, mode share and public attitudes are also considered. For the covering abstract see ITRD E124693.
Samenvatting