Alex Reid

Only if a complex check list of criteria is met will the gritters turn out to treat the city’s cycle routes and footpaths in icy weather. Cambridge Liberal Democrats are appalled by the amazing red tape which they fear is putting cyclists and pedestrians at risk across the city. The County Council has said that cycleways and footways will not be salted for frost or ice as a precautionary measure. Newnham City Councillor Sian Reid, who has campaigned for more investment in gritting, said: “This is absolute madness. We are putting people’s safety at risk. Key cycle routes should be treated as a precautionary measure in the same way as key car routes.”

An online petition on this subject with 1233 signatures was presented to the County Council on February 26th. Click here for details.

The Wildlife Trust for Beds and Cambs are currently preparing a management plan for Coe Fen and Sheep’s Green on behalf of the City Council. Coe Fen and Sheep’s Green are key sites in the city centre for residents and tourists. Councillors would therefore be grateful for any comments that you may have about the management of these areas, in particular relating to their public use, transport through them - perhaps thinking particularly of cyclists, and their wildlife interest.

Cambridge City Council has arranged for a number of pushchairs to be available at both the Park Street car park and Grand Arcade Cycle Park for families cycling into the city with young children. The pushchairs are free to use. The pushchairs can be borrowed at the following times: Grand Arcade Cycle Park between 8am - 7pm Mon - Sat (until 9pm on Wednesdays) and 10am - 6pm on Sundays. Park Street Car Park between 9am and 7pm Mon-Sat and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

Cambridgeshire County Council operates a website, at www.cambridgeshire.net, which gives contact details for more than 4500 community organisations throughout the County.  These can be searched by type of group (eg Playgroup, Spanish Class, Village Hall) and by location. You can specify the geographic radius of search.

For more general information on community participation, please visit the www.camlink.org.uk website, which is published by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats.  This is a resource for all those who are involved with, or want to become involved with, their communities. It includes sections on Getting Things Done, Getting Involved, Getting Heard, Getting Funds, Planning, Developments, and Campaigns.

The Liberal Democrat City Council has made a strong and clear objection to the release of land from the Green Belt north of the City NIAB site in South Cambridgeshire. The City Council’s view is that this site should not be released from the Green Belt because of the harm this would do to Green Belt purposes, especially “prevent(ing) communities in the environs of Cambridge from merging into one another and with the city”. Large-scale development, beyond the existing development proposed on the NIAB site, would put at risk the separation of Cambridge from Girton and Histon.

Any decision to develop this site could only be taken if the Inspector considering the soundness of the Site Specific Policies Plan concludes that there are exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances in this instance could include clear evidence to show that the development is required to meet housing targets, that the site is capable of being delivered within the Plan period and that the transport impacts of the development would be acceptable. The transport implications of development of the site are linked to the broader transport strategy for the city which is subject to a separate process.

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, will be taking part in a Question Time at 6pm on Thursday 16th October at the Faculty of Law, 10 West Road, Cambridge. Tickets, to include reception drinks, are available at £15 from Sarah Whitebread, telephone 01223 313765, email: swhitebread@googlemail.com.

The new Cambridge University Festival of Ideas, modelled on the successful Festival of Science, will take place from 22nd October to 2nd November. It will include free activities celebrating the arts, humanities and social sciences, including lectures, workshops and performances. The programme includes a debate on ‘What are the Limits of European Integration?’, chaired by Newnham Liberal Democrat City Councillor Julie Smith. Speakers include former Tory Leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable. This event will be held at 5.30pm on Monday 27th in the University Centre. For further information about the Festival, please click here.

CamShare is looking for Bike BUDies. The online car journey-matching service from the Travel for Work Partnership and Cambridgeshire County Council is now matching up cyclists to share a journey too.

Many cyclists are very experienced, and have expert knowledge of routes. CamShare needs to recruit from this pool of people a number who are willing to share a cycle journey with another person, giving them the confidence to try cycling and find a route with someone who knows the way. If you are willing to help new cyclists to find their way, then register now as a Bike BUDi on www.camshare.co.uk. Register too if you are new to cycling and you may find your perfect journey match.

CamShare needs to recruit a number of people who are willing to share a cycle journey with another person, giving them the confidence to try cycling and find a route with someone who knows the way.If you register before 1 November 2008 you’re eligible for a free cycle health check and will be entered into a free draw.

The Cambridge Cycling Campaign has announced the publication of its Cambridge Cycle Parking Guide. It is a practical and Cambridge-specific guide that will give all those designing cycle parking clear and simple guidance on how to do it well. Click here for more details.

High-quality cycle parking enables cyclists to park their bikes securely and must be conveniently located for the cyclists’ destinations. Cycle stands need to be suitable for different sorts of bikes, positioned with sufficient space to enable cycles to be parked easily, without risk of injury to cyclist, cycle or other cycles. Generally, for security cyclists will wish to lock their cycle to the stand, unless the cycle is put in a lockable locker. Facilities should be easy to find, signposted, well-constructed and well-maintained. The guide is a simple 12-page guide suitable for developers and existing site owners about how to provide good quality secure cycle parking, to encourage them to do so where there is no existing suitable cycle parking or to encourage them to upgrade inadequate and insecure cycle parking.

I am pleased to say that, after many months of pressure on the County Council, something is to be done about the pavements in Hardwick Street. We understand from the County Council that a ‘thin coat overlay’ is to be applied to the footways in Hardwick Street on Wednesday 1st October 2008.

We understand that it would be very helpful if residents’ cars could be removed from Hardwick Street for that day, for gully emptying for localised kerb and carriageway repairs. Again, I am asking if the County Council can help with this exercise by the provision of cones to prevent commuters from parking in spaces vacated by residents overnight.

It is a continuous source of frustration that the Conservative controlled County Council neglects its responsibility to keep the streets and pavements of Cambridge in good order. Your local Lib Dem councillors constantly press for action to be taken on this. To bring attention to this neglect we have recently launched a website at www.toryshambles.com which provides photographic evidence of neglect - including more than 40 photos taken within Newnham. I would urge you to visit the website, which includes several examples of dilapidated pavements in Hardwick Street. Please let me know if there are other examples of neglect of streets and pavements in Newnham that you would like to see included.

The Liberal Democrats are pledged, if elected to power in the 2009 Cambridgeshire County Council elections, to put such things right. For more on the Liberal Democrat Action Plan for Cambridgeshire, please visit www.libdemfuture.com.