Ely underpass works

Into my inbox from Cambridgeshire County Council:

As you may be aware, during the development of the Ely Southern Bypass there was a clear desire to improve conditions in the area of the underpass and station for pedestrians and cyclists.

Once the bypass has opened, the level crossing will be closed. Traffic using the existing underpass at the low railway bridge will be single file and controlled with traffic lights, allowing significant improvements for pedestrians and cyclists to be made.

This part of the project is a planning condition and aims to discourage through traffic from using the underpass and encourage use of the new bypass. It will not prevent local traffic from using this route should they wish to do so. We expect from traffic impact studies we’ve carried out, the majority of vehicles on the A142 will use the new road, greatly reducing the number of vehicles using the underpass. The waiting times at the proposed signals will therefore be short compared to the existing delays caused by the level crossing and make journey times much more reliable.

We understand there are concerns amongst local residents about the traffic being single file and the use of traffic lights and we can assure you these concerns were considered in our traffic impact studies. It is estimated the traffic lights will result in a maximum queue delay of 27 seconds per vehicle and vehicles will only wait once at a red light. We have taken residents’ concerns into account and changed elements of the design to minimise delays by making sure the lights are activated by vehicle detectors, which means they will respond as vehicles approach and at times when there is no demand the lights will show red in both directions which will allow them to respond more quickly. We have also brought the stop lines closer together to reduce the time that a driver will need to wait for opposing vehicles to clear the underpass section and for their signal to turn to green.

We wanted to give an update on the changes that will be implemented as part of the scheme – the principles of which were agreed as part of the Ely Bypass planning application –  and an opportunity for you to ask questions or raise comments on the project.

Please find attached the poster detailing the key features of the scheme, you can also get updated drawings and further details on our website (https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/transport-projects/ely-southern-bypass/). Please raise any comments or queries as indicated on the poster by 31 July 2018.

3 thoughts on “Ely underpass works

  1. John Clarke says:

    What a pretty video. All it lacks are the unicorns.

    • Lorna Dupre says:

      It is a bit, isn’t it? 😀 But it was the information about the underpass works below that that I was trying to pass on.

  2. Rose Lacey says:

    Things are looking to be as predicted. My only concern is the expansion of business area. If there are lots of units this may spoil the views and if what is built is too high the views would disappear. The building might disappear into the soft ground if not built on stilts.

    The walks are a very good idea but must have seating for us who love to walk but need to rest at regular intervals. A cycle rack might be useful but not necessary.

Leave a Reply to John Clarke Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.