WAGONSWilburton Action Group Oppose New SettlementThe proposed development will effectively merge Wilburton and Strethaminto suburbs of a mini Milton Keynes, be a blot on the landscape and cause traffic grid-lock. Do you want that to happen? Send us your views so we can include them! Wilburton Public Meeting - an overview |
| The A10 | Park and Ride | Other Villages |
Transportation is a major consideration for any large new development, as people need to be able to get to work, to shops, and more so these days like to travel for leisure.
The developers agree with this, stating that:
Transportation is considered by the promoters of Mereham New Community to be an absolutely crucial aspect of the proposals. Comprehensive in-depth studies have been undertaken and a formal Transport Assessment has been produced.
These measure concentrate on the A10, south of the proposed development (i.e. towards Cambridge). They include:
Also of concern are the capacity and safety figures - when asked at the public exhibitions how these figures can be achieved, representatives of David Tucker Associates said that it was from research carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory - which has been made available to Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire County Councils. We hope that they have had chance to study this research, as safety on the A10 is obviously of great concern to many people who use it - and by the admission of one of David Tucker Associates representatives the research is unpublished. We requested a copy of the research, but have yet to receive anything. By being unpublished, the research is unlikely to have been reviewed - in which case it is not independant and cannot be relied upon.
More insight into the A10 proposals can be seen in the A10 section. Another major aspect of the transporation for the proposed development is that of the Park and Ride service, which boasts claims of a 10 minute peak hour service, travelling from the development to Cambridge City Centre in 28 minutes. Alas, how this can be achieved with increasing capacity on the A10 appeared to be a mystery. Incorporating bus priority schemes at all major junctions would surely decrease capacity, and there appears to be no mention of improving the A10 north of Stretham where morning peak queues are often fairly lengthy - having the knock on effect of delaying the buses.
Further proposals for transportation include changes to Milton - mainly to allow buses to flow freely through the town, and across a bridge over the A14. The bridge in question would be an upgrade for the (new) Jane Coston bridge - as one Milton resident puts it "One wonders if they've actually looked at the bridge. I can't see any way one could widen it without starting over!".