Histon and Impington LHI Application 23/24
What is the Local Highways Improvement programme?
In previous years the Parish Council has bid to the County Council’s Local Highways Improvement (LHI) programme by proposing improvements highway improvements around the village. Feedback from residents at the Feast Market led the Council to focus on improving moving around the villages safely on footpaths.
When this was successful, it attracted the maximum amount of funding available from the County Council. Typically, the Parish Council has bid to spend some £10,000 each year and consequently attracted the maximum funding available from County Council so we’ve been able to do £20,000 worth of work to our footpaths. The Parish Council has had successful applications for four years, three applications to improve footpaths and one to improve the junction at Station Road/Baptist Church.
The change of administration at the County Council in 2020 has resulted in a different focus for the LHI. The County is keen to see this programme achieve more in terms of providing safer routes along public highways by enhancing pedestrian and cyclist safety. This means we too started to shift our focus away from stand-alone footpaths to road junctions and crossings across public highways. The first such project we proposed was a raised crossing on the southside of The Green where Brook Close joins it. This also supported the priorities in the Neighbourhood Plan which encouraged safe walking routes and also sought to secure the future of The High Street.
What is being Proposed?
A raised crossing at the mouth of Station Road where it joins the High Street (between the Boot and Co-op). This arrangement is often known as a ‘Copenhagen crossing’. There are many examples in Cambridge, elsewhere in the county and though out the UK.
A yellow box added to the High Street opposite Station Road exit.
This is shown in the sketch below (with the new crossing shown in red). The exact sizes and locations will be determined as part of the detailed design phase with the County Council.
What benefits will it bring?
The crossing is on a key route to the local school (Brook Primary), and will help people cross Station Road to reach the Zebra crossing to the Green. It will make it clearer to drivers that they should be giving way to pedestrians trying cross the side road. This will reinforce the latest Highway code that clarifies an expectation to allow pedestrians priority where they cross a side road entrance.
The yellow box will aid people turning out of Station Road onto the High Street. This is especially true during the morning school run, when there are large numbers of adults and children on bikes who turn right out of Station Road, and then immediately left into The Green. These movements are often blocked by a queue of cars on the high street.
Local Policy?
This supports several priorities and policies in the Histon and Impington local plan
HIM06 – Commerical Core
By improving access between the Western and Eastern of the High Street, this will help to ensure that people are easily able to access all of the local facilities and shops.
HIM14 – Walking and Cycling Routes.
This new crossing will make it easier for people walking along the High Street to cross Station Road.
Local Support/Consultation?
A key part of the LHI decision matrix Local Highway Improvement funding – Cambridgeshire County Council is the need to demonstrate local support for the improvements. We plan to carry out a consultation exercise by
- Publicizing the changes in
- HisImp news
- HiHub
- The School newsletters
- Histon and Impington Facebook page
- On site visits to Station Road during busy periods (morning school run)
What are the timescales?
The deadline for submitting the application is January 6th 2023.
If we are successful in our bid then construction would occur during Summer 2024.
What will it cost
The Parish council is bidding for funding from the County council as part of the Local Highways Initiative Local Highway Improvement funding – Cambridgeshire County Council. This will be added to by a contribution from the Parish council of up to £15,000. The exact cost will not be known until the scheme has been fully designed, but is expected to in the region of £35,000.
What else is being done in Histon and Impington?
- There is an existing scheme in progress under the previous year’s LHI scheme. This scheme will add a similar raised crossing across Brook Close, further down the high street.
For more details on this see
A Copenhagen Crossing for Brook Close, Histon | Cycling Dad UK (wordpress.com)
- There is also a scheme in progress to replace the unsightly red and white barriers at the bottom of Bell Hill with a more attractive permanent solution.
- The Parish Council have initiated a scheme to review the barriers on many of our footpaths to see what opportunities there are to safely remove those that prevent easy usage of the paths by wheelchairs, buggys, adapted cycles and other non-powered vehicles while maintaining safety for all users.
Examples of Raised Crossing
There are several examples of raised crossing in Cambridge, including
Why this scheme in particular?
The constraints of the timing of the LHI bid for this year have meant that it was only feasible to suggest and get feedback on a single project for the 23/24 round of funding. The Parish Council felt that this scheme provided a clear set of benefits for the village, which would likely show a strong level of support from the community.
We would like further feedback from the community about the issues people face getting around the village and any changes you would like to see.
Please Submit your Feed back on the form below or at clicking here
13 thoughts on “Histon and Impington LHI Application 23/24 Consultation”
Louisa hutchinson
This will be much safer for kids on the school run.
Kate Walton
I cycle with my 6 year old and 8 year old every day to school from Impington, this is the hardest and least safe part of the journey and these changes would make the school run much safer and easier for us. I am in favour of the proposal
James Walton
Any improvement to make school run safer is really needed
James Walton
Need to make improvements for children’s safety
lowri.roberts@gmail.com
Yes v much needed
Chris Godfrey
I think it’s a sensible solution. To also consider is a 20mph zone between school hill and the green/ station road.
A bollard ought to be added to the end of the parking outside Tesco where vans often park on the curb and obstruct the highway.
The triangle at St Andrews Centre is a key crossing area on a blind corner. I often see old people and young children crossing which can be difficult and dangerous. A zebra crossing ought to be considered at these points also.
Thanks for the proposal and driving this forward.
Jessica
I spoke to the men this morning about this junction. The whole thing sounds like a waste of money and very much a case of ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’
While I have been a pedestrian, cyclist, and in a car at this junction and in each instance I have had to wait in order to either cross the road from the pavement, or to be able to turn onto the high street, it’s been a small wait. Adding a ‘crossing’ where legally pedestrians will have a right of way through the law changes in the Highway Code, typically road users do not drive this way. A raised crossing where it looks like a continuation of the path and allows pedestrians to step across without checking is an invitation for a car to swing around the corner from to coop without enough breaking time to stop. I understand there should be more of a ‘use your initiative’ approach, but we’re looking at children crossing the road during rush hour. Cars driving faster than they should, and children stepping out into the road unexpectedly is a recipe for disaster.
Arthur Agar
See comments in 5 above
John Barrett
Make sure the existing crossing in marked
Lara Brettell
I often use this route by bike and the proposed changes look really beneficial. My only concern is cars turning left onto station road at the high street junction straight on to a pedestrian crossing and not seeing this in time.
Michael Willis
Great idea, that junction is a nightmare for me in a wheelchair!
Angela McKenzie
This junction is quite difficult to negotiate as exiting Station Road you can’t see traffic from the Green / Co-op side till the last minute. Having the raised Copenhagen junction would I think slow the approaching vehicles.
Strong signage will be needed to advise non locals particularly, not to sweep round the bend into Station Road too fast where the crossing will be. I am not sure if the High Street is already 20 miles per hour but if not then Rise and Crown traffic lights to Windmill Grange should be.
Anon
The crossing and box junction are not needed. Pedestrians crossing between the coop and the boot already have right of way over traffic turning from the high street onto station road.
The school traffic has been listed as a reason to put the crossing and box junction in however the vast majority of school traffic is on foot and crosses the road at various points along station road prior to reaching the junction. Others cross at the crossing on the high street to reach brook primary.
A box junction would help cyclists pull out of station road onto the high street then quickly turn left to the school rather than be held at the junction for a few minutes whilst waiting for traffic to clear however that is not a big enough reason to put the crossing and box junction in which would cause queues of cars along the high street and station road. Currently there is rarely a queue of more than 3 or 4 cars along station road towards the junction waiting to pull onto the high street in the mornings. A crossing here would make things considerably worse for cars with bigger queues and longer wait times in addition to pedestrians who would be crossing station road through the queue of cars in the lead up to the junction.