http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/access-restrictions-addenbrookes-road.html

http://www.apcoa.co.uk/

I suspect this is on behalf of Addenbrookes

Its a mess and will cost police time and, eventually, court time and money.

At tonight’s South Area committee I will seek to clarify if that position has changed or if the Long Road 6th Form College email is accurate and there is no automated enforcement but data from the cameras is to be used to prompt investigations.

I will also seek to ask:

* Are the cameras in operation yet.
* Who owns the cameras, and who is responsible for the data collected?
* For what reason(s) is data being collected. ie. is it only to police the Traffic Regulation Order
* Are there whitelists in operation; are all ambulances and other emergency vehicles on the whitelist?
* Is it local neighbourhood police officers, officers who would otherwise be policing the hospital, traffic police, or civilian police staff who are investigating possible breaches of the traffic regulation order.

Subject: Long Road Sixth Form College - New Addenbrookes Access Road
Dear Parent/Carer,
New Addenbrookes Access Road
We have been informed by Addenbrookes that the new access road will open on October 27 2010, during the half term break. Given the proximity of the Cambridge Hospital Campus (CUP) to the College we thought it would be helpful to provide a briefing on the new arrangements and their implications for staff, students and visitors to the College. The following details have been provided by CUP.
The new road, known as Addenbrooke’s Road, links CUP (Addenbrookes and the Rosie) and Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) to Trumpington, Shelford and the M11. The road was constructed by Cambridgeshire County Council. The purpose of the new road is to improve access to the campus, to help reduce traffic congestion and to provide a direct and safe route for cyclists and pedestrians along Addenbrooke’s Road
At the same time, new traffic restrictions come into force on the campus. These restrictions were a planning condition required by the Cambridgeshire County and City Councils in order to ensure that the new road did not become a short cut route and to prevent rat-running through the campus. Details are as follows
* Restrictions will apply from the campus boundary at all the entrances on Addenbrookes Road, Hills Road and Robinson Way
* Restrictions are designed to prevent motorists using the campus as a through route and will therefore apply when a motorist goes in one entrance and out another within a short period of time.
* Motorists who go in and the out of the campus by the same entrance are not at risk of a penalty. Consequently parents dropping students off at the College on Robinson way can still enter the campus, turn at the roundabout and exit the campus.
* Those who have legitimate business on the hospital campus will not be penalised
and only those who persistently use the road as a short-cut will be investigated by the police
* Cameras have been installed at the entrances to the campus. The camera on Robinson Way is situated just past the entrance to the College which therefore allows access without passing through a camera
* The cameras operate on a number plate recognition system. We are informed that the restrictions and the enforcement arrangements will apply to cars and motorcycles
* The camera system will involve penalties and any fines will be issued by Cambridgeshire Police
In conclusion then - the key implications of these changes for College staff, students and visitors from 27 October are:

* No restrictions on cyclists and pedestrians

* Access to the College will be onto Robinson Way via Long Road and not through the campus via the Hills Road or Addenbrookes Road entrances
Sandra Hamilton-Fox

The interesting section states: “Those who have legitimate business on the hospital campus will not be penalised and only those who persistently use the road as a short-cut will be investigated by the police” it appears that perhaps the enforcement will not be entirely automatic and perhaps prosecutions will only follow police investigations?

There’s a South Area Committee on Thursday, with the police present, where clarification might reasonably be sought:

http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/democracy/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=371

It is the “missing link” of Cambridge’s unofficial outer ring road (which continues north/east either along the route shown or through Cherry Hinton).

View Larger Map

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Caught-on-camera-as-you-drive-to-hospital.htm

Many cities have two ring roads - an inner and an outer. Oxford has just an outer. Cambridge has a full inner but the outer (which includes trunk routes such as the M11 and A14, as well as arterial entry/exit routes such as Ditton Lane) is only partially complete.

Take a look at a map of the City and it’s clear that this new road could form the missing link that virtually completes the outer ring.

If through access were allowed to all motor traffic, there would be enormous and unpredictable changes to traffic patterns and levels across the City - some good, some bad.

There are those who argue that increasing road capacity alleviates congestion, and others who believe this only makes the problem worse in the long run (for lots of different reasons).

I guess the thing to remember is that, if this road were to become part of the outer ring road, then a busy stream of through traffic would be crossing a hospital site, as well as residential areas across Queen Ediths.

If such access is to be prevented, then clearly some kind of enforcement system will be required.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=404361

One would assume that cyclists would be exempt, but given the ambulance staff are campaigning in all seriousness to ensure they are exempt I would suggest assuming those making the decisions are behaving rationally would be dangerous.

Others candidates included the council’s plans to fill in bus stops (lay-bys) in the city and get the new guided bus vehicles to stop in the road instead. I also considered reporting on Cllr Blair’s campaign to undo two thousand years of history and remove the “Arbury” name from the new development in North Cambridge.