Cambridge Connect made a supplementary submission to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority public consultation on their new Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, the final round of which closed on 04 August 2022. We included our Cambridgeshire Light Rail Strategy (PDF, 22MB, opens in new tab), prepared jointly with Railfuture in 2021, which set out our vision for light rail to improve public transport in the region. We added further comments in view of publication of the 2021 Census data, which show Cambridge City grew by ~18% in the period 2011-21, with substantial growth also coming forward in the rest of the region – much faster than had been anticipated. Further evidence has also be published on the scale and pace of Climate Change, which we consider warrants more urgent action and investment by transport authorities.
The Cambridge Connect supplementary response to consultation (04 Aug 2022) makes the case that:
- Projections based on past population trends have been wrong, and greatly underestimated the scale and pace of growth in the Cambridge region. Public policies and transport strategies have been predicated on false assumptions and there is a need for a reassessment of the strategy.
- The Climate Emergency is worse than previously thought, and that we are not doing enough to address the scale of the problem. There is a need for a major reassessment of the direction of travel and the interventions needed to deal with these twin challenges of our times.
- Light rail is the most environmentally sound, well-proven, reliable and safe technology with the capacity and attractiveness to deliver improved public transport on the scale needed. Moreover, it is has the environmental credentials and capacity for expansion so that it is future-proofed.
- Other modes, such as buses, are unlikely to have the capacity and attractiveness to deliver the scale of modal shift required to address the twin challenges of growth and climate change. Light rail can, however, work with buses to extend flexibility and reach to provide good connection to more remote parts of the region. Unproven and experimental modes of transport still in development are full of risk, and we emphasise the need for practical deliverability.
- The right scale of financing and investment is needed to meet the scale of the challenges. Innovative approaches to financing are needed, including partnerships with the private sector.
- The time for action is now, and we believe it is time to quit kicking the can down the road.
