Sam DaviesLast Friday I went over to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus to look at its claims for sustainable transport, particularly with regard to Cambridge South station. I talk about where the station’s location should be, and also look at some peculiar aspects of getting around this site on foot, and by bike, which are going to make it a real problem unless they’re sorted out before the station arrives.
I think you’ll enjoy the tour of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus from Addenbrooke’s roundabout through to the site of the proposed new railway station. Lots to think about.
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Sam –
it is a worrying fact that it does not seem the least bit remarkable that those (unpaid) folk such as you who have a genuine interest in the built environment see problems before they arise, whilst those who are paid £tens of thousands of taxpayers money cannot
However, is it possible that when the whole campus traffic grinds to a halt (as it surely will) due to the inability of the “planners” to plan, then Addenbrooke’s UHT and Astra Zeneca / Abcam et al will throw £millions at the problem?
Regards,
Steve, as I alluded to in the film, one of the problems is the discrepancy in the resources which the various Campus partners can bring to bear on sorting problems out. If you think about the example of the missing pedestrian crossing, let’s say each partner is asked to put, say, £20k in to fund it. It is relatively easy for one of the commercial players to find that money and justify it to their shareholders – to their credit, AZ have been spending heavily for years to try to minimise the problems. But it is much more problematic for the NHS partners to justify that expenditure, given pressure on budgets. So do you ask the commercial organisations to meet the full cost? Do you try to squeeze a contribution out of public healthcare funding? We talk about ‘the Campus’ as if it were one entity, but it is a very diffuse collective for most practical purposes. For proper accountability and transparency, that has to change.
A simple addition to support active travel would be build at least two underpasses under the rail line.
The magnificent Dutch are able to put in box tunnels under an 8-lane motorway in 24 hours.
I would challenge most folk to find it easy to propel a wheelchair over the existing bridges over the rail line. Quite a few cyclists seem also to find this difficult because they get off and walk.