Smarter Cambridge Transport

Category - Politics

Why consultations aren’t helping

To de-carbonise the economy, restore balance with nature, enhance public health and promote social justice, we have to do government differently.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The mayor’s recently-published Interim Transport Strategy Statement re-confirms his ambitions for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Lobby politicians, not officers

There is one feature of the local government system that’s simple: politicians set policy; officers advise and deliver. So who should people lobby?

More space for living, less for parking

You may be aware that Murdoch House, on the corner of Cambridge’s Station Square, is set to be replaced, but did you know that more buildings are planned to go up on the car park? Initial designs (currently being...

Let’s change the way public transport works here

The Dutch are well-known for their high-quality cycleways. They also do a very good job of running public transport. First, they have OV-chipkaart, a national smart card that lets you tap-and-go on just about any train...

Concrete is not the only solution

Aren’t you just loving the 2017 election season? In the local elections, we had weeks of talk about headline-grabbing transport infrastructure projects. Most candidates stated an ambition to solve the region’s transport...

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Devolution: a summary

[Links updated March 2021] On 4 May 2017, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough elected James Palmer (Conservative) as mayor. He will chair the Combined Authority, a new body that brings together the district and city...

Ways in which we must follow Anne Hidalgo’s lead

Think of a mayor. Perhaps Boris Johnson springs to mind? A man whose pre-Brexit legacy was to start a cycling revolution in London: ‘Boris bikes’ and cycle superhighways. Maybe Rudy Giuliani? Famous for Zero Tolerance...

What do we want from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor?

“I’ll be with you in a minute. I’m listening to the mayor on the radio.” On 5 May 2017, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will join a handful of cities and regions with powers and money devolved from government. The...

Where is the Hills Road cycleway project review?

Successful businesses are built on the maxim “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. So imagine for a moment that one of Cambridge’s world-leading businesses instituted a project which overran its budget by...

Greater Cambridge City Deal: A New Approach

Areas of concern [Updated 23 August 2016: expanded section on access and parking permits] Here in summary are ten concerns that residents, businesses and observers have voiced about the City Deal: The City Deal is...