It would certainly be better...cheaper?probably not. However, it may not be that much more expensive, once everything is factored in.The only alternative I can think of is a Copenhagen-style fully automated metro. Whilst that would be cool, I'm not convinced it would be any cheaper or better than a tram.
Cambridge has its rough parts, pretty much like any city!
Looks like James Palmer is about to lose the Cambridgeshire mayor election. Could this be the end of CAM?
Update: Palmer lost becoming one of the few Conservative losers in this round of elections.
Bye, bye CAM.
Thank goodness - now for some sensible transport policies based on technology that actually exists (e.g., trams).Update: Palmer lost becoming one of the few Conservative losers in this round of elections.
Bye, bye CAM.
Almost certainly. Nik Johnson's manifesto suggests he's very lukewarm on the idea of any such grands-projects
I'm not against grands-projets but CAM was the wrong solution to Cambridge's problems. Plenty of small European cities have systems which work. Pick one of them.
Exactly right. And if you want to be a but future proofed and fancy (eg Haverhill) make them tram/trainsAnd make sure it's a standard one, not a flag-waving piece of patriotism for Monsieur Michelin.
Trams are the answer - standard, low-floor, 4' 8.5" trams. Put them in a tunnel or run them on batteries in places if you need to, but keep it simple and keep it standard.
Now that the project is going to be scrapped, is there a plan as to what will replace it? More traditional light metro/tram?
Whilst the CAM appeared to be a misguided vanity project, the transport issues still remain.
Nik Johnson's priorities seem to be around buses, bus franchising, park and ride etc. Whether he will re-look at light rail in the longer term remains to be seen.
Agreed, but a quicker-to-implement scheme that can soak up some demand now whilst a longer term strategic plan (,ie, trams) can be brought into use.While CAM was a hare-brained scheme of the highest order, more bus lanes and park and rides seem a little too unambitious and unlikely to produce the big modal shift which is needed.
Has Cambridge a bike hire system since ofo withdrew? That seems like a quick capacity win until tramways or trolleybus knitting can be built.
Has Cambridge a bike hire system since ofo withdrew? That seems like a quick capacity win until tramways or trolleybus knitting can be built.
It can help if there are hire bikes at the entry points like the North station, Milton Road and whatever equivalent on the other sides. Then you can disembark before the busy core if not going to the center.Not much cop if you live outside the city though!
Another company started up e-scooters and e-bikes as a trial - Voi.
While CAM was a hare-brained scheme of the highest order, more bus lanes and park and rides seem a little too unambitious and unlikely to produce the big modal shift which is needed.
It can help if there are hire bikes at the entry points like the North station, Milton Road and whatever equivalent on the other sides. Then you can disembark before the busy core if not going to the center.
I still maintain that trams on the surface are incompatible with the centre of Cambridge. Getting anything better than the buses do now would probably need some sort of underground solution. This is probably the germ of where the CAM idea came from, but even with the gadgetbahn elements stripped out it would be a difficult, expensive and time-consuming proposition. Rather like a poor man's version of the surface tramways in France, bus improvements are probably the only thin the Mayor can deliver during his term of office.I think there does need to be something shorter term, and fixing buses seems like the way to go - they ought to be ideal for how well they penetrate the city centre.
While CAM was a hare-brained scheme of the highest order, more bus lanes and park and rides seem a little too unambitious and unlikely to produce the big modal shift which is needed.
Not quite the same, but the Park & Ride sites do have cycle storage facilities (so you can park and cycle)
Cycle hire would work well at some. Newmarket Rd, for example, is a dead easy cycle into town along the river.
Yes,and not only parking and cycling but even just cycling. Cambourne is only 8 miles away and Newmarket I think 14 but the cycleways are poor paint jobs (Cambourne) or very indirect (Newmarket). Those should be quick wins to free up some bus capacity by enabling some cycling. Even Ely might just be in range if the cycle way was more direct and no gravel bits.And that isn't an easy cycle, even though it's pleasant, because it's a long way! (About 16 miles I think).
So for Cambridge, park and ride (your bike) does have potential, much more than anywhere else other than probably Oxford.
I think Cambridge park and rides sensibly allow you to pay only to park and then cycle onnwards. Oxford and Norwich did not when I tried lastly. Bike hire from some P+R is an obvious good thing to try, also from outer bus stops and train stations.
Maybe to stop people using it as long term parking when flying out of Stansted? Would be easy to dump the car there, bus to Cambridge and train to the airport.Parking is free at the St Ives site as long as you don't stay more than 18 hours after which it is chargeable with payment by phone only (if I recall). I'm not entirely sure why this stipulation exists - it may well be to discourage people using it for camper vans (though it does have a 2m height barrier).
At least £2.5m, reportedlyI wonder how much was spent on the CAM proposals.
That £2bn figure is a massive understatement for what it would actually cost to build anyway!New Mayor confirms he will scrap CAM
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s new mayor Nik Johnson will scrap £2bn metro project
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s new mayor Nik Johnson has confirmed he will not proceed with the £2bn Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro project.www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk
Any money is too much money for that scheme lmao.I wonder how much was spent on the CAM proposals.
Well, that's a fleet of probably 10-20 new buses, but could have been far worse.At least £2.5m, reportedly