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Proposed improvements to The Green and Junction of Station Road & The High Street

The Parish and County Councils have been working together to design improvements to the area at the heart of our community.

The junction of Station Road and The High Street (between The Coop and The Boot) is difficult to cross safely as it is quite wide, has restricted visibility and traffic can approach and turn quickly. By the time even a brisk walker has got half way across a car can be bearing down on them.

When some funding became available to be spent in the village this area was identified for some improvements. The Parish Council requested a Traffic Island to allow the junction to be crossed in two halves, although an alternative scheme is to build out the kerbs to narrow the crossing and slow turning traffic.

The County Council has now completed the ‘Safety Audit’ for both schemes and sadly the traffic island option would not allow larger vehicles (bin lorries and emergency vehicles) to turn safely.

It is therefore planned to proceed with the built out kerbs, as shown in the diagram.

A further part of the scheme is to improve the pavement outside the Coop food and pharmacy shops. It is quite a narrow pavement and slopes down to the road making it awkward for vulnerable groups (mobility scooters, pushchairs and prams). The kerbs are to be evened out and realigned to further slow traffic at this pinch point on The High Street.

The Parish Council has spent years planning for a crossing in this area – finally this funding can achieve it. The natural crossing point is from The Coop to the Building Society, however this is just not deemed safe due to visibility. The nearest it can go is shown on the map.

Changes around The Green are a sensitive subject, and rightly so. Village Greens are protected by some heavy weight legislation and work can easily need permission from the Secretary of State.

The Parish Council itself battles to protect the area as the centre of our community. A number of residents have raised concerns about any encroachment onto The Green and this must be taken seriously. With a number of footpaths already crossing The Green, there is a cumulative effect on the loss of grassed area which must be kept in mind and to a minimum.

However it must be remembered that there is currently no safe crossing point from Station Road to the Junior School or the playground. Or indeed from Pages Close and Glebe way to The Coop and Station Road.

To minimise the impact on The Green, only some tactile paving is planned on the pavement by The Green itself.

The final element of the package of works will actually return an area back to grass. Reducing the curve of the area used for parking along The Green will have very little effect on the number of cars that can park there, but will make getting in and out of those spaces easier and therefore more usable.

The Parish Council is keen to hear the views of our community on the proposed changes, both in support and also any concerns. There will be a formal consultation period shortly, but please do leave a comment or contact the Parish Office to let us hear your views.

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10 comments on “Proposed improvements to The Green and Junction of Station Road & The High Street

  1. Well done David in getting to this stage with the scheme. It has been a long slog, but feel these proposals are the best we shall get. Safety has been everyone’s concern over the years and these proposals will go a long way in making these two areas safer for all.

  2. I’m pleased to see the scheme will also make it easier for pedestrians to cross between The Boot and the Co-op. What is the material proposed for the extended pavements outside The Boot and the Co-op, shown green hatched in the plan?

  3. From a cycling perspective, this seems to be an improvement. The sharper corner will be trickier to navigate and thus encourage a cyclist to slow as they approach from the south. The slightly built out pavement outside the Coop will make cars a little more visible as they zoom along the High Street going west – the current cycle danger with this junction. Generally slowing cars through the centre of the village will be a marked improvement all round.

    • Enough problems with cyclists as it is, destroying my property and noise – move yr bloody cycle racks across the road to the Co-Op, slow traffic down outside rush hour – 20mph limit as in loads of other Cambridgeshire villages – enforced by our increasingly invisible boys in blue, and use a bit of common sense??

  4. How about asking the CoOp about changing the position of the door to the side of the shop where the path is wider? This way they could create a much safer opening and it would stop a lot of the problems. The wider path could also have bike racks outside the entrance and make it much more welcoming for them. Many a time I’ve seen young kids on scooters speed up on the slope straight into the road.

    I know they refurbished last year but they may still consider it if asked, it would certainly make their shop a lot better in terms of access and visibility as well. The slope isn’t just the issue, it is bikes on the glass, the mobility scooters parked, lollypop man, children crossing …. Can’t imagine it would cost much, maybe the parish council could give something towards it – would be one of the best long term possible solutions to make things even more safe.

    • This is a very sensible suggestion. The wider entrance would make a lot more sense.

      Mini rant:
      I’m not sure what they achieved in their refurbishment last year, seems as dim and dark as it was before – why they didn’t add natural skylights is beyond me.
      Rant over.

  5. Pingback: Proposed improvements to The Green and Junction of Station Road & The High Street | Histon and Impington News

  6. Firstly as the nearest resident to this ‘scheme’ there is already a big problem with traffic flow through High St/Station Road – yet another restriction/crossing is unnecessary. Better to reduce speed limit to 20mph (why this hasn’t been mooted is amazing) and to reduce the ridiculous amount of signage and street furniture which restricts visibility in this area. Also the proposal is for another crossing – as the crossing further up the High St is hardly used, do you think one from the Green to Brook Close will also be used – no. People cross the street from outside my house & CBS to the front of the Co-Op, as do the school kids (under supervision for <1hours per day total….) In the 25+ years I have lived here there has not been one pedestrian collision at this junction so please folks get a grip on reality before ruining my life and spending money better used on worthwhile projects.

  7. Further rant – reducing the parking bays on the Green is total madness – people will just park outside CBS/Daisy Chain, or the pubs (as they do now) and also move onto Brook Close for longer stays. Just moving the ‘problem’ elsewhere is no solution. As a local resident with no parking – hey my house was built before the motor car existed (shock horror) by all means enforce parking regs (not done) and perhaps give us poor locals some residents parking??? Not reduce the limited facilities we have now.

  8. As I understand it ,there will be only one parking space lost along The Green and as the kerb-line planned will be straightened this will make parking easier and may enable an extra parking space to compensate.There is a need for these two crossings. Station Road will be safer to cross, as will the one near the Green. With regard to the 20 MPH speed limit within the village, this has been on The Parish Councils wish list for some time and I believe this will happen in the future, once all the legalities and consultations are carried out. The Parish Council have also identified that The Co-Op could then move their customer access door to the Station Road side, if they can be persuaded and yes Bike racks there has also been considered and hopefully will happen!

    So before any more rants, please read all that is published on the new Parish Councils’ Web site and come along to their various Parish meeting’s to hear first hand what is going on or planned for the future. Everyone can have their say at these meetings under `Public participation. All Minutes are available to view if you cant get to the meetings.

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