Cambridge Living Streets is the local branch of the national charity working for better everyday walking. Cambridge Living Streets’ Linda Jones is Emeritus Professor of Health at the Open University. We are now paying a significant health price for our sedentary, car-based lifestyle and our children are paying it too, faced with traffic danger, congestion, air pollution …
What are modal filters and low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs)? Over the past few years, Cambridgeshire County Council and the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) have introduced modal filters – features such as planters, bollards or concrete blocks – in many streets across Cambridge to create low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs). The filters prevent through-traffic by certain types …
Are road closures in Cambridge causing more congestion? Read More »
Franchising is currently suggested as one option to deliver bus service transformations envisaged as part of the GCP’s Sustainable Travel Zone proposals (named Making Connections 2022). Bus service franchising means that decisions about routes, frequencies, hours and days of operation, and fares are no longer at the whim of operators, but are taken by a …
What is bus franchising and why is it important? Read More »
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP)’s Sustainable Travel Zone proposals include introducing road charging for motor vehicles. It would be highly beneficial to introduce a local road charging scheme that generates income that is reinvested locally, rather than wait for a national scheme to come into force (as is predicted in the coming years) which would …
How might Cambridgeshire benefit in the future by introducing road pricing now? Read More »
Air pollution, caused by emissions of toxic gases and aerosols into the atmosphere, is a public health crisis. In 2020 alone, 121 deaths in Greater Cambridge were attributable to air pollution. In terms of particulate emissions, the WHO has stated that there is no safe level of exposure at which harmful effects do not occur. …
Under the current proposals for road charging as part of a Sustainable Travel Zone, drivers of electric motor vehicles (unless exempt) would be required to pay the road charge and would not receive a discount. The GCP did consider a pollution charge as an alternative to the Sustainable Travel Zone, with zero emission vehicles exempt …
Climate change is one of the greatest challenge facing the world. Global heating is already having far-reaching consequences for the earth’s inhabitants and the natural systems that sustain life. Action to bring down emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon emissions from transport, is essential. The latest IPPC report says that choices on individual mobility have …
Why must carbon emissions from motor vehicles in Cambridge be reduced? Read More »
Sustrans is an ally member of the Cambridgeshire Sustainable Travel Alliance. This post was first published on the Sustrans blog on 22 November, 2022. The Greater Cambridge Partnership is looking to introduce a London-style congestion charge zone to improve public transport and improve air quality. Find out more about the plan and why we’re supporting …
Stagecoach has just made big cuts to bus services, but the GCP is proposing a transformation of the bus network, with more services to more locations, as part of its consultation on a Sustainable Travel Zone (called Making Connections). How will this be possible? Why are bus services being cut? The fact that Stagecoach has …
How can bus services be increased when they are currently being cut? Read More »
Under the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP)’s Sustainable Travel Zone proposals, income from road charging will be used to fund bus services and infrastructure for walking and cycling. Why is it fair for motorists to fund more sustainable forms of transport? Car ownership actually has a significant social cost that is borne by society as a …
