Cambridge South West Travel Hub

UPDATE

The Greater Cambridge Partnership has now submitted a planning application to build the new travel hub that will provide 2,150 car parking spaces and 300 cycle spaces.

The GCP recognises that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on public transport journeys but there is an expectation that the bus patronage levels will eventually return to the numbers experienced prior to the pandemic.

The application was submitted to Cambridgeshire County Council on 29 May with a decision expected on a later date.

As part of the short term measures considered appropriate for the Cambridge South West Travel Hub project, updates to the Trumpington park & ride have been completed. 274 new spaces have been added and are now open for use.

A time-lapse of the works being completed is available to view below.

A blue double decker bus at the Trumpington Park & Ride

OVERVIEW

Junction 11 of the M11 is a key entry point into Cambridge. With significant growth in housing and employment in the area, upgrading the existing transport infrastructure in this area is vital to reduce congestion and improve access into the city.

Congestion impacts on current bus journey times making journeys unreliable, unattractive and longer than necessary, as well as affecting the convenience and comfort of cycling trips on the corridor.

By expanding the existing Travel Hub in Trumpington and creating more Travel Hub provision (either by creating multi-storey parking at the Trumpington site or a new Travel Hub to the west of Junction 11), car drivers can be encouraged to complete their journeys by bus. More Travel Hub use would help the flow of traffic and make employment sites such as the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, West and North Cambridge easier to reach.

A consultation on increasing Travel Hub spaces to the south west of Cambridge ran until 21 December 2018. Thank you to those who attended our events and responded to the consultation. We will now collate the responses and publish a report in the Spring of 2019.

The Cambridge South West Travel Hub Project is a component of the West of Cambridge package, which includes review and development options for Travel Hub facilities, creation of new Travel Hub locations, and enhancement or upgrade of existing facilities.

OBJECTIVES & BENEFITS

Objectives of this scheme include:

To maintain or reduce general traffic levels and congestion
To enhance the environment, streetscape and air quality
To provide safer and more convenient routes for cycling
To at least maintain existing levels of pedestrian connectivity.

Benefits of this scheme include:

A faster and more reliable way to travel into Cambridge city centre
Supports the delivery of new homes across South Cambridgeshire
Supports access to key employment locations and job creation
Improves local public transport infrastructure.

A contemporary style new build house in Trumpington Meadows, with a young tree in the foreground

BACKGROUND

The M11 Junction 11 is a vital access point into Cambridge from the south. Currently, Travel Hub provision is located on the city-side of this junction, the Trumpington Travel Hub site.

There is significant housing and employment growth around the M11 area including the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Trumpington Meadows and West Cambridge. There are currently 16 peak time P&R buses per hour from Trumpington to the City Centre, with predictions showing the site will soon reach capacity. Intensification of the Trumpington site to provide extra spaces is being considered.

An new Travel Hub site at Junction 11 in addition to the existing site would enable journeys to be faster and more reliable. Reducing the increasing number of cars travelling into Cambridge and adding to the extensive and high-quality public transport network currently being developed across the area.

At the Executive Board meeting on 27 June 2019 the GCP Executive Board agreed it was important not just to mitigate the potential impacts of the scheme, but to ensure that local residents benefited from it in terms of enjoying access to the travel hub and the facilities it would provide.

A row of cars parked in the Trumpington park and Ride facility

LINKS WITH THE WIDER TRANSPORT STRATEGY

Cambridge South West Travel Hub is part of the West of Cambridge Package. A collective of schemes designed to improve traffic and congestion to the west of the city.

This programme will also work towards Cambridgeshire’s Long Term Transport Strategy:

Access to areas of employment and key services will be maximised, particularly by sustainable modes of travel, to:

Provide a transport network that is efficient and effective
Provide good accessibility to services and for businesses
Provide a high quality public transport and cycle network to routes near major employment, education and service centres