bicycle
17-12-2008, 12:45 PM
CAMBRIDGE will be gridlocked in 12 years unless politicians grab £500 million for desperately needed transport work, a development boss has warned.
Alex Plant, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Horizons, will tell politicians in charge of planning transport in the county tomorrow that congestion in Cambridge will reach "unacceptable levels" if left unchecked.
And he will warn that the only way to get the cash needed to tackle the problem is to go ahead with a £500 million bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).
But that is dependent on introducing congestion charging in Cambridge, which Cambridgeshire County Council has put on ice after it failed to earn public support for the scheme. An independent transport commission led by Sir Brian Briscoe will consider such issues and any alternatives to congestion charging, which could see drivers charged £3-£5 for driving in Cambridge between 7.30am and 9.30am Monday to Friday.
But Mr Plant, who leads the notfor- profit body tasked with driving forward sustainable growth in the county, will focus councillors' minds on the dangers of failing to grapple the congestion problem. He will point out that there are plans for 58,000 more homes to be built locally over the next decade.
He told the News: "You have to look at the context of Cambridge as it will be in 10 or 15 years' time. It will be a much larger city. Work has already been done that suggests you need huge investment in transport infrastructure - how that comes forward is for other people to decide but we need it.
"If we don't do TIF, where else are you going to get the money from? You're not going to get it from developer contributions.
"If we don't get the money, the local authority will be left with a declining level of transport spend and they will be forced to do some rather crude things like put more bollards up. To some extent, congestion will police itself but that is an unsatisfactory way of managing demand."
It is predicted growth will lead to 20,000 extra morning peak journeys in Cambridge, an 84 per cent rise in junction delays and a 46 per cent increase in travel time by 2021.
Around £2.2 billion is needed to fund transport improvements alone and the TIF funding has already been anticipated by budget-setters.
Cllr Matt Bradney, the council's cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, said the TIF bid was not the only option.
He said: "This is something Sir Brian will also be doing: looking at all the alternatives. TIF isn't the only option but it is the biggest pot of money available and could deliver the most infrastructure."
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=374653
Alex Plant, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Horizons, will tell politicians in charge of planning transport in the county tomorrow that congestion in Cambridge will reach "unacceptable levels" if left unchecked.
And he will warn that the only way to get the cash needed to tackle the problem is to go ahead with a £500 million bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).
But that is dependent on introducing congestion charging in Cambridge, which Cambridgeshire County Council has put on ice after it failed to earn public support for the scheme. An independent transport commission led by Sir Brian Briscoe will consider such issues and any alternatives to congestion charging, which could see drivers charged £3-£5 for driving in Cambridge between 7.30am and 9.30am Monday to Friday.
But Mr Plant, who leads the notfor- profit body tasked with driving forward sustainable growth in the county, will focus councillors' minds on the dangers of failing to grapple the congestion problem. He will point out that there are plans for 58,000 more homes to be built locally over the next decade.
He told the News: "You have to look at the context of Cambridge as it will be in 10 or 15 years' time. It will be a much larger city. Work has already been done that suggests you need huge investment in transport infrastructure - how that comes forward is for other people to decide but we need it.
"If we don't do TIF, where else are you going to get the money from? You're not going to get it from developer contributions.
"If we don't get the money, the local authority will be left with a declining level of transport spend and they will be forced to do some rather crude things like put more bollards up. To some extent, congestion will police itself but that is an unsatisfactory way of managing demand."
It is predicted growth will lead to 20,000 extra morning peak journeys in Cambridge, an 84 per cent rise in junction delays and a 46 per cent increase in travel time by 2021.
Around £2.2 billion is needed to fund transport improvements alone and the TIF funding has already been anticipated by budget-setters.
Cllr Matt Bradney, the council's cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, said the TIF bid was not the only option.
He said: "This is something Sir Brian will also be doing: looking at all the alternatives. TIF isn't the only option but it is the biggest pot of money available and could deliver the most infrastructure."
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=374653