Your help is needed.
Cambridgeshire County Council is cynically using this period of limited local authority debate to attempt to strip the city from having a say in its own transport issues.
These issues include cycling schemes, pedestrian crossings, parking, waiting and loading restrictions, traffic calming, residents’ parking schemes, vehicle access and weight restrictions, dockless bikes and electric vehicle charging points.
At present, decisions are made by a body called the Cambridge Joint Area Committee. This committee consists of councillors from both the County Council and the City Council, and allows us to have our say. The committee has existed for over 20 years, and its meetings are well attended. It allows transport matters affecting Cambridge to be decided democratically by Cambridge and for Cambridge.
If that sounds sensible, it’s because it is sensible. As far as I’m aware, all political parties with councillors in the city are objecting to the proposed change.
Under the new proposals, local transport matters will be decided by County Council officers or a new Highways and Transport committee. Decisions will be made by a majority of people who do not live in Cambridge, and may have little experience or understanding of the city. Worse still, from next year they will meet in new offices in Alconbury, nearly 30 miles away from us.
In other parts of the county, town and parish councils provide a forum for detailed consideration of Local Highway Improvement proposals, Traffic Regulation Orders and other local transport schemes. Without the Cambridge Joint Area Committee, there will be no equivalent forum in Cambridge. This is not about special favours for Cambridge; it’s about ensuring that local matters are decided locally.
What you can do, today
These should only take 1 minute each, and will make a difference.
- Please sign this petition
- Please email your county councillor, the chair of the Constitution and Ethics Committee, and the leader of the County Council noting your objection to the plan. Click here to set up the email. Include your full address.
- Please email our MP to ask him to bring pressure to bear on the County Council. Click here to set up the email. Include your full address.
Thank you!
Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention, Chris. It is an outrageous proposal by the County Council, but you have made it as easy as you possibly could for us to take the only action that is open to us..
We strongly oppose the proposal by the Cambridgeshire County Council to strip Cambridge people of the right, via their City Councillors, to comment on the City’s transport issues.
Chris – why are we not at all surprised by another County Council plan to take control of things about which they know precious little, and which affect the City residents about which they know (and care?) even less?
A bit like:-
1. Dutch roundabouts. Having seen the actual layout now we need to re-Christen these “Double Dutch roundabouts”
2. 20mph speed limits along QEW that was never going to work, was probably never the subject of a risk assessment, never going to be monitored to ensure compliance, and has resulted in hugely increased speed and OVERTAKING (as well as hugely over programme [and I have heard] budget)
3. Development plans
4. Etc., etc
Is it possible to post why the County Council say the proposed change is a good thing to do?
You can find their reasoning on P.18 of the report linked to by Cllr. Taylor. It’s important to note that the reason Cambridge has a Joint Area Committee and other places don’t is because Cambridge wants one and other places don’t!
Thank you to everybody who has emailed me — over 20 at the last count and they are still coming in.
We fought hard to institute the CJAC so that Cambridge people would have a voice in local traffic matters, decided by councillors representing Cambridge. Under the proposed arrangements decisions on Cambridge highways and traffic matters would be made either by county councillors for the division concerned, officers, or the main Highways and Transport Committee which will be dominated by councillors from outside Cambridge, and which will meet in Alconbury.
I was the first chair of CJAC and over the years I’ve been on the committee, we have resolved a range of issues from zebra crossings and parking restrictions to protocols for hire bikes and the infamous King’s Parade barriers (sorry, that did not go the way I wanted!)
I shall of course be opposing the proposal. I have set out my position here.
I shall be taking part in the meeting this afternoon to ensure a Cambridge perspective. The report is here.
If you are free this afternoon (Wednesday 22), you can follow us on YouTube here.
Anthony Browne referred me to the petition above. Please sign this! His reply was otherwise not supportive.