Decision details

To report the results from the consultation on ‘Tackling Peak-Time Congestion in Cambridge’ that are informing the work of the City Access project team and influencing the emerging work programme.

To agree next steps on the City Access work following the consultation, in line with the project objectives and scope agreed in January and June 2016. 

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED that the Executive Board:

a)    Agrees that :

                      i.        Officers should work up and assess options for a package of physical demand management measures.[i] (please see footnote i at the end of this decision notice)

                     ii.        Officers should assess existing data and evidence of desired access between destinations to create an overview of measures that will increase access while reducing congestion.

                    iii.        Physical demand measures should make the best use of the limited road space and capacity in Cambridge, in order to improve bus reliability, cycling and walking, particularly within the designated Air Quality Management Area.

                   iv.        No further work is undertaken on the package of six peak-time congestion control points consulted upon.

b)    Agrees that officers should continue to work up and assess options for the other seven elements of the eight-point plan consulted on, including:

                      i.        A Workplace Parking Levy: Co-design a workplace parking levy (WPL) scheme with employers with more detail available for Board and public review later in 2017:

1.To work with individual employers and groups of employers during 2017 on the details of the scheme.

2.To determine the local transport priorities that will receive the revenue raised, building on employer evidence of transport needs and coordinated with Council infrastructure planners.

3.To be coordinated with and if feasible form a part of the City Deal and the Local Enterprise Partnership’s broader engagement with the business community.

4.The roll-out to include practical support for employers looking to manage their parking demand in advance of the levy coming into effect.

5.It is recommended that as far as possible, the Cambridge WPL should resemble the Nottingham template. However, there will need to be agreement on how to charge, the price, its geographical extent, exemptions and how it will be administered and enforced.

                     ii.        On-Street Parking Controls: Note that the Cambridge City Joint Area Committee (CJAC) is considering whether to recommend changes to parking policy in Cambridge and subject to business case, the City Deal would fund consultation on new residents’ parking zones and the costs of implementation. Although the Assembly NOTED this potential action, it DID NOT SUPPORT IT. The Assembly considered this should not go ahead until there was mitigating alternatives in place to counter the potential displacement of vehicles.

                    iii.        Improved Public Space and Air Quality: Agrees that officers should:

1.Assess the possibility of establishing a Clean Air Zone and the potential for the introduction of a pollution charge in central Cambridge within the existing Air Quality Management Area. Key criteria for assessing this should be its impacts on: health; the local environment, including air quality and public realm; bus reliability and cycling; business and the economy; deliverability and value for money.

2.Ensure that initiatives to improve city centre access should continue to consider opportunities for improving the city centre experience and economy and that this should be coordinated with other work across the Partnership that has similar objectives, including planning policy.

                   iv.        Better Bus Services and Expanded Park & Ride: Agrees that officers should continue work to identify how to reduce bus delays on key bus routes by engaging bus operators and finalising the Bus Network Review.

                    v.        Better Pedestrian and Cycling Infrastructure: Agrees that officers should continue to work with other partners to improve cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

                   vi.        Travel Planning: Agrees that officers should continue to work with Travel for Cambridgeshire to support employers to adopt sustainable policies and practices with regard to travel to work and travel during work.

                  vii.        Smart Technology: Agrees that officers should continue to work with Connecting Cambridgeshire to develop smart technology solutions, and that there is more emphasis placed on Smart Technology by the Greater Cambridge City Deal going forward.

c)    Agrees that officers, with partner assistance, should delivery a City Access communication and engagement plan to support these recommendations if agreed. It is recommended that the plan focusses on communicating:

                      i.        Factual information about the vision for the future;

                     ii.        Statistics and research results;

                    iii.        The need for a package of complementary measures to ensure productivity growth without commensurate growth in congestion;

                   iv.        How we are developing workable solutions by designing them in partnership with those who will be impacted and those impacted if changes are not made;

                    v.        The plan will also set out how the City Access programme fits into the broader plan for city centre revitalisation, and the wider City Deal transport vision and housing plan.

d)    To take these recommendations forward, it is proposed that work on the individual elements of the City Centre access work be developed through a series of delivery plans. Proposed plans are:

                      i.        Data analysis and joined up strategy

                     ii.        Bus improvement delivery plan

                    iii.        Communications and engagement delivery plan

                   iv.        Cycling provision delivery plan

                    v.        Demand management delivery plan

                   vi.        Parking management delivery plan including a workplace parking levy and on-street parking controls

                  vii.        Public space and air quality delivery plan including pedestrian infrastructure

                 viii.        Smart technology delivery plan

                   ix.        Travel planning delivery plan