FAQs

The scheme has come about following an Active Travel Investment Study undertaken by GCP in 2020.

The Active Travel Investment Study was commissioned to identify where further investments in the active travel network, beyond schemes already funded, should be prioritised.

Thirteen corridors were identified and were appraised in a Multi Criteria Assessment Framework (MCAF) to enable them to be ranked and an order of investment priority to be identified.

An online public consultation was undertaken in summer 2021 and, following that, the GCP Executive Board approved the development of a concept design and Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for Hills Road.

The project will be funded through the City Deal programme.

We have developed two options for the route. We are now consulting on the options with residents, businesses, and local stakeholders to help us develop the proposals.

We are also undertaking transport modelling to assess the impact of the proposals, and the results of this will be reported in the SOBC for the scheme.

To date the project team has engaged closely with Cambridgeshire County Council officers from the cycling, road safety and traffic signals teams.

In March 2023, we held a briefing for local councillors. Attendees were supportive of the various concept options that were set out.

The project team has also held a stakeholder workshop with representatives from several community stakeholder groups.

Option B for the Hills Road scheme includes replacing the existing Cherry Hinton Road junction with a Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (CYCLOPS) junction.

A CYCLOPS junction is a signal-controlled crossroads where all pedestrian, cycle and vehicle movements have fully segregated facilities. Controlled pedestrian crossings are provided across every junction arm, and a segregated cycle track around the junction enables cyclists to safely cross each arm.

Vehicles have their own signal-controlled movements through the junction as per existing signal-controlled junctions. CYCLOPS junctions are relatively new junction arrangements, with the first in the County located on Histon Road, and the second under construction on Milton Road.

They provide substantial safety benefits, with separate signal-controlled stages for pedestrians and cyclists to cross, removing potential conflicts with turning vehicles. The compact junction arrangements also support the opportunity to provide additional planting.

Floating bus stops are proposed along Hills Road in both options. Floating bus stops have the pedestrian footway and cycle track behind the bus stop so that cyclists do not have to go around waiting buses, improving safety for all road users. 

Floating bus stops are the best-practice arrangement for new facilities across the city, with examples located on Huntingdon Road and Histon Road.

An all-movement exit allows for traffic to move left, right, or straight on at a particular junction.

For this scheme, both options propose an all-movement exit for cyclists on the Brookgate junction with Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue. Currently, cyclists are only allowed to turn left at this junction.

Advanced Stop Lines (ASLs) are a second stop line in advance of the normal stop line at signalised junctions.

ASLs create a waiting area for cyclists and aim to increase pedestrian safety if there is a crossing area.

'Hold the Left Turn’ refers to a type of junction arrangement that removes potential for ‘left and right hook’ conflicts between cyclists and motor traffic. In this arrangement, a nearside cycle track is given a dedicated green signal while conflicting general traffic turning across the cycle track – typically the left turn but also any opposing right turn – is held on a red signal. The turning motor traffic only receives a green signal when cyclists are held on a red signal.

Continuous footways are proposed at the lightly trafficked priority-controlled side roads along Hills Road. Continuous footway and cycle tracks across the side roads will provide clear visual priority to pedestrians and cyclists, improving safety for people walking and cycling along Hills Road. This will be achieved through the use of ramps, coloured surface materials and tightened junction corners to ensure slow vehicle turning movements.

A ‘Cambridge kerb’ is a shallow-angled concrete kerb that is installed between the cycleway and carriageway. The kerb creates stronger definition between the cycle lane and carriageway, making it clear to vehicle drivers that they should not cross this line, yet allowing cyclists to navigate from cycle lane to carriageway and back in order to overtake other cyclists, or any other obstruction.

The final design for Hills Road will be developed following a review of feedback from the public and stakeholders, including Cambridgeshire County Council, who will be responsible for maintaining the new infrastructure.

The decision on whether or not to proceed to construction will be made by the GCP Executive Board following the completion of the detailed design and Full Business Case.

All feedback received during the public consultation, combined with engagement with stakeholders, will be reviewed by the project team and used to inform the next stage of design for Hills Road. A summary of the feedback received during this public consultation will be made available online on the GCP website.

Further consultation will be undertaken during the formal planning application stages.

The responses to the recent Making Connections consultation are being analysed and will be considered by the GCP Executive Board this summer. The proposals for Hills Road would work in conjunction with the Making Connections proposals.