Girton/Oakington & Westwick
Joint LHI 23/24 proposal
SURVEY NOW CLOSED
A brief survey has been put together to collect your views/feedback
To Access the survey, please click here
For more information see below.
The deadline for receipt of your feedback is 3rd January at 5pm.
What is the Local Highways Improvement Programme?
The Local Highways Improvement (LHI) programme covers all districts in Cambridgeshire and invites any groups or organisations that represent the local community to apply for funding.
The schemes are community driven and give local people the opportunity to put forward proposals for highway improvements in their area.
The schemes are delivered by the County Council on a joint funded basis and applicants can apply for funding of up to either £25,000 for complex projects or £10,000 for non-complex projects, as a contribution to their scheme. The applicant is expected to provide a minimum contribution of 10% towards the total scheme cost.
For more information, please click here
What is being proposed by Girton and Oakington & Westwick?
Oakington & Westwick and Girton Parish Councils propose to work together, and with Cambridgeshire County Council, to use some of the LHI funding to make the main road linking the two villages (Oakington Road/Cambridge Road) safer.
We propose that this notoriously dangerous road can be made safer for drivers, cyclists, horse riders, and pedestrians by reducing the speed limit to 30mph all the way from the 20mph zone in Girton to the 20mph zone in Oakington (see map below), and including traffic calming measures.
What benefits would it bring?
Road to be made safer for all users
S106 money is available to support this project
The work supports current improvements made by Highways
The collaboration between Oakington/Westwick and Girton increases funding and benefits for both villages.
Local Consultation/Support
A brief survey has been put together to collect your views/feedback
To Access the survey, please click here
For more information see below.
The deadline for receipt of your feedback is 3rd January at 5pm.
Why this scheme for 23/24?
Oakington & Westwick have carried out significant work to understand and propose this initiative. This detailed analysis allows our two villages to present this significant and ‘complex; LHI proposal to Cambridgeshire County Council to meet the newly revised criteria for CCC Local Highways Initiative by 6th January 2023.
As part of the conditions of the Northstowe development money (Section 106) has been made available to some of the parishes nearby, including ours, which can only be spent on traffic calming measures. Cambridgeshire County Council are currently running a Local Highways Initiative where they will help fund road safety measures across the county. This currently excludes 20mph schemes, which will be considered separately.
What will it cost?
The proposal includes request of £50K of funding from CCC with contributions of £20K from both Girton and Oakington & Westwick.
S106 money will likely be used for this scheme, which will mean this project will not require additional funding from 2023/2024 precept.
LHI 23/24 Deadline:
Deadline for submission of Girton/Oakington & Westwick Survey: 3rd January 2023 (By 5pm)
Deadline for submission to Cambridgeshire County Council: 6th January 2023
GPC Extraordinary Meeting for decision on scheme: 4th January 2023
Note: Agenda to be available from 23rd December 2022 to meet Council requirements for Agenda submission to public of 3 working days.
I agree with this proposal I have always thought that the 40mph sign just before the bend as you leave Girton dangerous.
What is the evidence that this is a dangerous road? There are no dangerous corners the junction for the road to Histon has clear views what is the problem here?? Seems a total waste of money and more traffic disruption.
I am not necessarily averse to 30 mph but don’t see the need for more speed bumps. It’s not a residential area.
I don’t believe this road needs to be reduced to a 30MPH road. The road is not the problem, the problem is the visibility entering Oakington Road from adjacent New Road, and the lack of street lighting.
Why not reduce the speed on New Road to 40mph instead so that speeding cars coming from Histon do not enter Oakington Road at such high speeds.
All very well…..But ! How many people would take notice of the speed ?
If it’s anything like the 20mph limit in Girton, hardly any.
Waiting for Ben the Grimsby Fish man at 9am on a Friday morning near Gretton school I always have streams of 10 – 20 cars in batches fly pass my stationary car at sometimes up to ca 50mph making my car shake when they pass.
Often going through the village, I live in Redgate Road, when Imtravel at the legal 20 mph I have usually up to 10 cars behind me until I turn into the road I live in , looking in my rear view mirror they are all speeding off up to at least 50 mph.
I have also had cars overtake me by the allotments on the other side of the road when traffic is coming the other way !
It will only work if there is a speed Camera like there SHOULD be in the 20mph limit in the centre of Girton.
I am not convinced the 30pm would work because the 20mph doesn’t work now !
I was also very skeptical of the 20mph limit in Girton, but while some drivers ignore it altogether, many do reduce speed and there is a perceptible calming effect in the village.
But on the roads between our villages the speed limits need to be reduced and this change needs to be policed, or else the proposal will be meaningless. Failing policing, we could do with changes to road design to force reduced speeds as is done in Eddington.
For example, we could significantly reduce the width of the road so as to widen the absurdly narrow shared and bi-directional cycle path (it is wide enough only to the New Road junction).
We need to make travel by our children on cycles – and all of us – safer. We should not have to worry about their lives as they go to schools and visit friends in nearby villages.
Speed limit wouldn’t be obeyed. Now that the speed limit on the bend at Girton has been reduced to 30mph how is it dangerous to be 40mph I think it’s a perfectly safe speed, especially if the cyclists stick to the path. I completely disagree with 20mph through Girton as well, maybe the side roads acceptable at 20 mph but not cambs/Girton road. Should be from the church to the corner of oakington road.
The evidence of danger is the teenager who was killed this year whilst cycling along that road. (I understand that they were on the shared use cycleway/footway?). Whether that collision would have been influenced by a 30mph limit I don’t know. Speed was quite likely a factor in why the driver mowed down a child. There may well be other factors. Not much point speculating further without knowing some details of what happened.
You can see the reported collisions with injuries here: https://cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/roads-transport-and-active-travel/cambridgeshire-collision-data/ although it doesn’t seem to say which are minor/serious/deaths, which isn’t very helpful.
Enforcement will work a lot better than just changing the limit.
If the concern is that drivers won’t abide by the speed limit then speed awareness campaigns could be undertaken by the parish councils such as MVAS (https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/improving-the-local-highway/mobile-vehicle-activated-signs
These have been used by Landbeach, Milton and Waterbeach PCs and seem to be effective.
I agree that we need more enforcement, but this is never financially viable for our cash-strapped police. Instead measures like reducing road width (and increasing the width of the shared-use paths), speed bumps, and spot checks on speeding may change the present culture.
The link provided by Paul suggests that both vertical (speed bumps etc) and horizontal (road narrowing etc.) mechanisms may be needed to reduce speeding. Here’s the specific link: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/improving-the-local-highway/speeding/horizontal-speed-treatments
MVAS may seem reasonable, but given the number of people (mostly locals) who ignore the Go Slow MVAS system at Girton College, perhaps this is just as effective as paint on the road was for making cycling safer.
I am in favour of a 30mph speed limit between the two existing 20mph limits in Girton and Oakington. But I agree with Paul Loveday (above), that to be effective it will need a speed camera somewhere to help enforce the limit, just as there should be one or more cameras to enforce the 20mph in Girton Village itself – at present hardly anyone abides by that limit, and many motorists become very angry and impatient if they follow me doing 20mph. I have had some cars roar past me, their drivers showing abuse before they then speed off doing at least 40mph. I’ve even had a lycra-clad ‘speed’ cyclist overtake me and shout obscenities. A number of villages now have a sign on entering declaring “This is a Speed Watch Village”, as well as far more interactive speed limit signs than we do. Why can’t we? Also random mobile speed camera checks by the police would be helpful.
On the proposed speed limit, I would like to query the cost. As it is a Highways, and hence County issue, why is GPC being asked to contribute £20,000 at all? And where is the evidence that the proposed work has gone out to tender to get the lowest cost bid. Is it another case of a private sector contractor fleecing the public purse?
I would support a 30mph road here, as well, incidentally as a reduction in the Gatehouse road speed limit from 60mph. But i do think that traffic calming measures at the girton end would be the most beneficial in encouraging cars to observe the 20mph limit in Girton, which is a residential area.
Not sure there is any need to reduce the speed limit further between Oakington and Girton but there is a need for a proper traffic light crossing by the Co-op and one down by The George/Old Crown as the parked cars around these bends make visibility very difficult.
I support this proposal of reducing the speed limit and assisting the compliance by the construction of traffic calming measures.
One death is one too many so measures such as this can only help make the road safer for all road users.
The formation of a local volunteer Speed Watch Group between both villages may in the interim help police identify persistent law breakers as some correspondence have already complained about.
Christopher (Horton) – I would be interested in starting / continuing the formation of a local volunteer Speed Watch Group between both villages. happy to get in touch.
As residents of Oakington Road (it is a residential area!), we strongly support this initiative. As cars leave Girton (down a slight hill and around a corner), cars are speeding up from 20 mph to 30 mph, and then see the 40 mph, and so speed up further as they see a clear road ahead. This is exactly where we cross the road to the bus stop and the cycle way. When there was a speed monitor, I frequently saw it exceeding 50 mph.
Reducing the speed on the road would make it safer. Even if some drivers speed, some won’t and the limit may bring the average speed down. I think the speed detecting signs are very useful in making drivers aware of their speed.
As the shared use path near the Gretton school and past gatehouse road are too narrow, can they be widened as part of this scheme? It might not be possible as the road needs to be wide enough for buses to pass.
I also agree with previous comment that pedestrian crossings are needed – near Girton Corner, near the coop and near the Old Crown .
Jill Jones – 3rd January 2023
Reducing the speed from to 30mph on both the Oakington Road and the Gatehouse Road seems a reasonable
method to try and reduce speeding and to support the changes to put in cameras to record the result of those changes and hopefully prevent accidents.
Reducing the speed limit to 30 mph between Girton and Oakington may well be reasonable, but please no more speed bumps! The existing ones as one travels through Girton legitimately at 20 mph cause a violent jerk to the suspension – very bad for any passenger with a back problem. One should be allowed to travel in comfort if observing the speed limit.
I am in strongly in favour of a reduced 30mph speed limit between the 20mph limits in Girton and Oakington and on extending the 20mph Girton speed limit to beyond the Camboro Business Park, which houses the Girton Day Nursery and Pre-school, at this location. My arguments in support are as follows:
Road Safety:
Passenger vehicles are by far the most dangerous of the transportation options. Over the last 10 years, passenger vehicle death rate per 100,000,000 passenger miles was over 10 times higher than for buses, 17 times higher than for passenger trains, and 1,623 times higher than for scheduled airlines.
Deaths by Transportation Mode – Injury Facts (nsc.org)
A pedestrian / cyclist etc who is hit by a car travelling between 30 mph and 40 mph is between 3.5 and 5.5 times more likely to be killed than if hit by a car travelling at below 30 mph.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj9xpWn2av8AhUPesAKHd_VCcYQFnoECAwQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rospa.com%2Fmedia%2Fdocuments%2Froad-safety%2Finappropriate-speed-factsheet.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0g-rzhsSWZbUm5zIm8x6pg&cshid=1672759144023553
Driving at a reduced speed is a change of driving culture:
Using Seat Belts:
Mandatory use of seat belts can into force only in 1989. In 1989 it became a legal requirement for children travelling in the back of cars to wear seat belts and in 1991 adult passengers had to also wear seat belts in the back of cars.
Drink Driving:
1962: it ONLY became an offence for any person to drive, attempt to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle if their “ability to drive properly was impaired”. No legal drink driving limit was set until 1967.
1967: The Road Safety Act introduced the first maximum legal blood alcohol (drink driving) limit in the UK. A maximum blood alcohol concentration of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood or the equivalent 107mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.
2010: lowered the legal limit to 50 mg of alcohol per 100ml and the equivalents in both breath and urine.
2022: Only since June last year, Judges are able to hand down life sentences for those who kill while under the influence of drink or drugs June 2022.
Use of Mobile Phones when driving:
June 2022: Stricter laws come into force on mobile phone use.
Speed Restrictions:
Only since February 2013: Speed reduction was introduced on Huntingdon Road reducing it from 40 to 30mph, and from the section into Cambridge to the Girton turn off reduced from 60mph to 40mph!!
Extending the Girton 20mph limit:
In the recent past, and like many other families, make use of the Girton Day Nursery and Pre-School facilities at Camboro Business Park. To access this I used my bike with a trailer buggy attached. Having vehicles shoot past and race from 20 to 40mph over this sort distance is dangerous.
This facility is open from 8am to 6pm. But trying to exist that junction, in the dark with winter road conditions whilst pulling a heavy buggy with a preschool child, and traffic driving at a MIN 40mph is quite frankly life threatening.
The cycle facilities that existing on the shared pavement admittedly have been widened but only in the recent year or so. No doubt spired on by the horrific and tragic death of a young person at this very location. The short narrow bridge in Oakington Road over Beck Brook (past the Manor Farm Road junction) has a restricted shared path.
In addition the cycle path is notoriously overground in the spring/summer/autumn with brambles and other bush and tree vegetation and branches, restricts cycle use and adequate visibility .
Need for pedestrian crossings:
I agree with previous comment (Trisha Gillespie) that pedestrian crossings are needed.
One at the junction of Oakington Road and Camboro Business Park to allow access for the cycle users and pedestrians. To the Camboro Business Park facilities.
One near Girton Corner, one near the coop and one near the Old Crown.
Traffic measures and road crossing at the Girton Anglian church and Recreation Ground also needs close attention.
Feeder Road Speed Reduction:
It makes sense to reduce the speed limit of the feeder road to Oakington Road (New Road and Gatehouse Road to also be reduced in time. Otherwise the good work being done elsewhere is undermined and the highest speed limit for motorists that are time pressed or just reckless will always win out.
Speed Reduction Measures:
Many good measures have been offered. I would also favour the use of more Speed Indicating Devices (SID)
that display the actual speed on the sign. With a sad or smiley face these are used extensively elsewhere are effective of at making speeding publicly know. A range of measures should be employed including signs on entering declaring “This is a Speed Watch Village”.
Enforcement / Civic Action:
As suggested already, speeding culture needs to be changed.
The use of the above, plus mobile speeds cameras (in strategic locations) and more active voluntary involvement is most welcome.
The details of recent changes of the Highway Code need to be incorporated into proposed amendments and the spirit of the road speed limit changes in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. who all regularly use these Girton / Oakington Roads.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-changes-you-need-to-know-from-29-january-2022