Features

Mill Road Safety Scheme proposals

An almost continuous stream of cars, buses, delivery trucks, cycles and pedestrians makes Mill Road one of the busiest routes in Cambridge - and one of the most dangerous to negotiate.

East meets west...

...And ne'er the twain shall meet. Except they do - at the railway bridge that bisects the road, separating the east section (Romsey Town) and the west (city end) - and it's equally bad on both sides. In the five years from 2004 to 2008 there were 127 injury accidents on Mill Road, but the authorities believe that number could be considerably higher if unreported incidents and near misses were to be included.

The bridge bisects busy Mill Road

The heavy concentration of residential and business premises the length of the road means that nothing major can be done to change the actual size of it, so the proposals take an 'every little helps' approach.

From Mortimer Road at the very top of the city end, across the bridge and as far down as the Coleridge Road junction, a number of small changes are being suggested, which the council's road planners hope will make a big difference. They've got around £400,000 to play with, and they'd like to hear from you if you're likely to be affected by the changes, or have any alternative suggestions.

You can view the proposed changes and make your own voice heard by filling in an online questionnaire (the link is at the bottom of this page).

So what can be done for £400,000?

The following are just some of the suggested options to reduce the number of accidents on Mill Road, and it's likely that the preferred solution will include a number of these in combination.

* 20mph speed limit
* "Gateway" signing or features
* Changes to markings
* Investigation of raised junctions or flat topped speed humps
* Upgrading the existing signal crossings or changing them to zebra crossings
* Making pedestrian crossings humped crossings
* Speed cushions
* Better consistency of street lighting levels

There's a provisional map showing how Mill Road could be improved using some of these options on the council's website (again, the link's at the bottom of this page), BUT, as Nichola Harrison, a local councillor for Mill Road told Radio Cambridgeshire's Jeremy Sallis, nothing is set in stone until after the consultation. You can listen to that interview here:

For more information

The county council website has lots more information about these proposals including maps and an online questionnaire: