With Cllr Ian Bates, Cllr Ian Manning, Clare Blair, Cambridge Cycle Campaign, Shirley School Parent Governor, Friends of Bramblefields and FENRA committee members. The walkabout included reviewing Cambridge Cycle Campaign's proposal to block off Nuffield Road and allow business traffic to access businesses via the guided bus rout proposed from Milton Road to the new Station. Cllr Menzies reviewed the alternative route with interest and appreciated the local insight to the area.The group continued the with a walkabout through Bramblfields and Cllr Menzies made the following points and observations in relation to the Station development:
• formalising the current informal path through the centre of the nature reserve
• creating a new path to access the station up past the current pond and allotments and through the Triangle, currently not accessed by general public.
• limiting new paths built to a max 2m width, which are planned to be ’ built to current City Council standards for paths shared by cyclist and pedestrians at the location’ . No further details given. Current City paths are hard surfaced.
• that there will be an increase in pedestrian and cycle traffic through Bramblefields
• no lighting planned in the current Station proposal
• mitigation measures proposed are: enlargement of the small pond and weed clearance; hedging to screen the new path from the allotments; some additional planting in Bramblefields.
FENRA has since made clear that we are opposed to any access to the Station through Brambelfields given that it is a nature reserve and not a cycle-run-through and that alternative viable cycle and pedestrian access are available.