Milton Road update: October 2023

The Milton Road project aims to improve public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure to make these sustainable travel options a more attractive alternative to the car.

This month has been a busy one with a tree planting ceremony, more works being completed and new areas being started.

To celebrate the near completion of the landscaping on the Highworth Avenue / Elizabeth Way roundabout, members of the Milton Road community marked the project’s progress with the planting of a tree on the roundabout.

This will be just one of almost two hundred trees which have been / will be planted in total on Milton Road.

Cllr Elisa Meschini, chair of the GCP Executive Board, planted the tree alongside representatives from Milton Road Residents’ Association and Hurst Park Avenue Resident’s Association (HPERA). Members of the local community helped select the trees, plants and shrubs, including the tree planted, a Birch ‘Fascination’, which thrives in sunshine or semi-shade, has an attractive deep orange bark and green leaves that turn yellow in the autumn.

This tree – and all the trees planted – will be maintained with regular visual inspections, core testing (to determine moisture content), watering, pest and disease control checks, application of slow-release fertiliser and general pruning. By doing this, the trees can successfully establish themselves as part of the scheme in the long term, increasing the resilience of Milton Road in the future. 

Since the community planting, all landscaping on the roundabout is now complete.

Completed landscaping at Highworth Avenue / Elizabeth Way roundabout.

For more information on tree maintenance, please watch our video in which Willerby Landscapes explains the system: Greater Cambridge Partnership: Milton Road – tree maintenance - YouTube

We are currently excavating opposite Milton Road Library and installing tree pits and tree soil cells which help to protect utilities and pavements from tree roots.

To find out more about the system we use to plant trees in hard landscaping, please watch this video from the company who developed and supplied the materials: GreenBlue Urban. 

We are making good progress on the south-east (outside Co-op) quadrant of the King’s Hedges junction.

Excavation is currently taking place to install drainage and tree pits, and kerbs for the pedestrian walkway and the cycle lane are being laid. Specialist sockets have been installed for the crossing beacons, and tactile surfacing has been added.

There is a pedestrian diversion in place for this quadrant (see below). In addition, the ‘no right turn’ for vehicles from Milton Road northbound onto Green End Road is still in effect. This is to ensure safety for all users while we construct the junction. Please follow the diversion via the roundabout at the A14 interchange.

Pedestrian access to Co-op area from west side of Milton Road.

The Copenhagen crossing on Cook Close is well under way.

Copenhagen crossings provide an extension of footways and cycle lanes across the carriageway of a side street where it intersects with primary or secondary routes. Once completed, this junction will resemble that of Oak Tree Avenue and Kendal Way.

A benefit of these crossings is that they provide a visual indication that pedestrians and cyclists have priority. They also reduce vehicle speeds on the approach to the junction and when turning from the main road onto the side road.

We are also laying binder coursing near Cook Close.

A binder course is generally a combination of stone, gravel and bitumen, which is placed between the base layer and the surfacing of the asphalt pavement. Its function is to distribute the load from the surfacing into the base layer, strengthening the footpath or cycle path to prevent damage and extend its lifetime. Binder coursing differs from the surface layer, which may not be added immediately, and is smoother while retaining adequate friction for safety. 

The east side of Mitcham’s Corner is taking shape well as these ‘before and after’ photographs show.

There is now more room for pedestrians and cyclists while parking for visitors to shops is maintained.

Mitcham's Corner: September 2021 (Google maps).

There is space for vehicle doors to be opened without impacting the cycle lane or footpath and there is now additional space for pedestrians to walk, or even enjoy a morning coffee.

Mitcham's Corner: October 2023, with work underway

The following bus services are currently stopping on Milton Road: 

• Milton P&R (PR5) Stopping at P&R, Science Park, Kendal Way (southbound stop permanently moved to 398 Milton Rd), Fraser Rd /Ramsden Square (northbound stop temporarily moved to opposite Cook Close and southbound stop temporarily moved to 280 Milton Road), Downham’s Lane (southbound stop temporarily moved to 280 Milton Rd), Ascham Rd, Westbrook Centre (northbound stop temporarily moved to outside Carpet Mill on Chesterton Road). 

• Number 9 Stopping at Science Park, Kendal Way (southbound stop permanently moved to 398 Milton Rd), Fraser Rd / Ramsden Square (northbound stop temporary moved to opposite Cook Close and southbound temporarily moved to 280 Milton Road), Downham’s Lane (southbound stop also temporarily moved to 280 Milton Rd), Ascham Rd, Westbrook Centre (northbound stop temporarily moved to outside Carpet Mill on Chesterton Road).  

• B the busway Stopping at Westbrook Centre (northbound stop temporarily moved to outside Carpet Mill on Chesterton Road).  

• 4A Only stopping at Kendal Way (southbound stop permanently moved to 398 Milton Rd) - service once a day.  

• Number 2 Stopping at P&R, driving test centre, Cambs North, driving test centre, Chesterton - Milton Rd.  

• Number 1 Stopping at Westbrook Centre southbound.

Approximately 1550m of footpaths and cycle lanes have been completed.

Nearly 200 trees have been / will be planted.

6,000 metres of main, edging and demarcation kerbs have been installed.

1800m of drainage channel has been fitted.

Approximately 108 utilities have been diverted. 

14,200 tonnes of materials have been excavated.