Work begins to block cars from city's road
BARBARA CARRPreparation work for a trial that will restrict cars driving through a central Cambridge street, to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, has begun.
The trial on Sidgwick Avenue will last between a year and 18 months and involve installing a retractable bollard in the middle of the road to restrict most vehicles.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), which delivers transport projects in the area, said access would be maintained for emergency services.
The GCP said more than two-thirds of road users on Sidgwick Avenue were walkers and cyclists.
It added that an average of 250 pedestrians and wheelchair users were forced off the narrow footpaths each day, as it had become "almost impassable" in places due to the mature London Plane trees.
The road provides an entry point to the University of Cambridge's arts and humanities faculty cluster, the Sidgwick site, and is surrounded by several university colleges.
The GCP trial will also involve widening the northern footway to two metres, suspending pay-and-display parking and repairing potholes.
The works to facilitate the trial began on Monday and will last about eight weeks.
During this time, the Queens Road/Silver Street junction will be closed between 07:00–17:00, with a diversion via Newnham Road, Barton Road and Grange Road.
On-street parking has also been suspended, but the road will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists.
The trial forms part of the GCP's Comberton Greenway project, which is being delivered in stages and is aimed at making it "safer and easier to walk, wheel and cycle between Cambridge and the western villages of Comberton, Hardwick and Coton".
It has already begun other works, including building a "cycle street" to the west of Cambridge.
Road markings had to be redone on Adams Road after the GCP admitted they were not enforceable. It had aimed to give cyclists priority over motorists.
The GCP said it would evaluate the changes at the end of the trial before confirming the next steps.
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