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Cambridge South : no parking (and local CCTV is dissuade anyone from stopping near by...)

Justin Smith

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Almost all the users of the station will be walking, cycling or taking the bus to their final destination. Furthermore, those willing to pick up/taxis have their own drop-off point. There is nothing authoritarian about this.
A station without a car park ? How many stations, particularly newly opened ones on "out of town" brownfield sites, have no car park ? I am saying it is authoritarian because they are deliberately making it awkward to use a car to catch a train, i.e. they are being anti car.

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Though it is unusual to have a station without a car park in the outlying London commuter area. Cambridge however is a bit different to most commuter towns, partly in having such a large inbound commuting number (but so does Milton Keynes) and partly in being a very anti car city (only Oxford really gets close).
Exactly
 
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zwk500

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Cambridge already has a big ebike and escooter hire operation:
Fine, use Voi if you have to (not that I've had massively good experiences with the Voi or Bolt services I used elsewhere), just make sure there's a high number of hire bikes very obvious to people parking at the P&R, and at the stations.
 

Justin Smith

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Most people don’t drive in Cambridge, which has narrow mediaeval, pre-car streets, poor-condition roads, and very little parking in general - they cycle, walk, or take the bus or train instead. There is a lot of traffic congestion, which dissuades people from driving. Hence, cycling is often a lot quicker than driving or taking the bus. The station won’t fail.

This video gives you an idea of how many multiples of times more cyclists there are than cars in Cambridge, far more than in most other places in the U.K., and how congested it is for cars:
The station is not in central Cambridge it is in an out of town location

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It's incredibly arrogant of motorists to assume they should be allowed to drive everywhere. And Authoritarian of them to demand valuable narrow street space is given up to huge SUVs instead of pedestrians.
The station is in an out of town location, thus the "valuable narrow street space" argument is not relevant.

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Then add in Cambridge's good bus network and excellent cycle usage, and tbh the only thing that stands out for why you would provide parking is the potential revenue the railway is passing on.
What you are basically saying is they are trying to force people onto public transport to get to and from the station, in my view that is authoritarian (and unnecessary in an out of town location) and why the station deserves to fail.
 

zwk500

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I am saying it is authoritarian because they are deliberately making it awkward to use a car to catch a train, i.e. they are being anti car.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/authoritarian (I thought it the most appropriate dictionary to use :) )
Meaning of authoritarian in English
In what way is not providing a parking space "demanding that people obey completely". And if that fits your interpretation of "refusing to allow them freedom to act as they wish" you must suffer terribly under the yoke of anybody who ever says 'no' to you.
It's been noted upthread that you can still drive to Cambridge South to drop off or pickup, and that alternative parking options are available.
 

Justin Smith

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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/authoritarian (I thought it the most appropriate dictionary to use :) )
Meaning of authoritarian in English

In what way is not providing a parking space "demanding that people obey completely". And if that fits your interpretation of "refusing to allow them freedom to act as they wish" you must suffer terribly under the yoke of anybody who ever says 'no' to you.
It's been noted upthread that you can still drive to Cambridge South to drop off or pickup, and that alternative parking options are available.
I will avoid diverting this thread into the political area of what is authoritarian and confine myself to saying I think it is authoritarian.
 

PGAT

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What you are basically saying is they are trying to force people onto public transport to get to and from the station, in my view that is authoritarian (and unnecessary in an out of town location) and why the station deserves to fail.
What you are actually doing is giving people options to get to the station without a car, not just public transport but also foot and bicycle. You are ignoring the simple fact that one can get picked up / dropped off by car anyway.

Using your logic, typical "parkway" stations would be authoritarian as you are forced to drive to the station to access it, using a vehicle that can be easily tracked and logged etc
 

Justin Smith

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What you are actually doing is giving people options to get to the station without a car, not just public transport but also foot and bicycle. You are ignoring the simple fact that one can get picked up / dropped off by car anyway.

Using your logic, typical "parkway" stations would be authoritarian as you are forced to drive to the station to access it, using a vehicle that can be easily tracked and logged etc

Parkway stations are different entirely as they are aimed at encouraging motorists to use the train, but why would the station having a car park stop people using public transport or cycling or even walking ?
 

py_megapixel

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Parkway stations are different entirely as they are aimed at encouraging motorists to use the train, but why would the station having a car park stop people using public transport or cycling or even walking ?
The car park occupies space that would otherwise be taken up by the places those people are walking to/from.

Furthermore, motor traffic is a significant danger to pedestrians and cyclists.

I am saying it is authoritarian because they are deliberately making it awkward to use a car to catch a train
I won't get into the continued misinformation about what authoritarianism is because I think that has been covered amply by others. But I will address your comment about them making it awkward.

No, they aren't. They are making it awkward to park a car at this station specifically, because that isn't what this station is for.

As has been said now multiple times on this thread, there are plenty of stations which are designed for that and you are free to use any of those. Or you can be dropped off in someone else's car.

they are being anti car.
Good!
 

Magdalia

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The station is not in central Cambridge it is in an out of town location
Cambridge doesn't have one centre any more, it is a multi-nodal city. It is only shoppers and tourists that want to get to and from the old town centre. The Biomedical Campus, with more than 20k employees, plus lots of hospital visitors, is one of those nodes.
The station is in an out of town location, thus the "valuable narrow street space" argument is not relevant.
The narrow street space is relevant because the main routes in and out of Cambridge are also narrow street space. For the Biomedical Campus that's Hills Road/Babraham Road and Trumpington Road/Shelford Road. If you want to see how congested they get, then look at the Stagecoach bus timetables and see how long they take to cover very short distances.

How many stations, particularly newly opened ones on "out of town" brownfield sites, have no car park ?
The Biomedical Campus is not a brown field site, it is a green belt site. This statement demonstrates your ignorance and prejudice regarding the Biomedical Campus.

20 years ago Cambridge South and its surrounding land was agricultural fields, the only access was Red Cross Lane, an unmetalled farm track.

I will avoid diverting this thread into the political area of what is authoritarian and confine myself to saying I think it is authoritarian.
It isn't authoritarian, it is democratic. I grew up in Cambridge, compared with when I was a child, the City is 50% bigger, but with almost no increase in road space since our bypasses were constructed in the 1970s. Most of that growth has been in the last 20 years, when Cambridge has had increased traffic congestion and sacrificed lots of green belt land, including what is now the Biomedical Campus. Until now, local democracy has decided, mainly through the planning system, that cars will be discouraged and cycles encouraged, in order to deliver economic growth without sacrificing the essence of what Cambridge is.

If you don't like it, don't come. And that will be your choice. But businesses are voting with their feet, and coming to Cambridge, even if you are not.
 

styles

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The council would've had a fairly significant say in what impact on traffic and congestion they were willing to accept also.
 

stevieinselby

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Personally I don't see why they didn't put parking there, though. There's room and it might have been useful to those driving in from the south intending to go to London, and reducing congestion around "City" a bit. Those going into Cambridge from the south would of course use Trumpington P&R.
If you don't put any car parking in then it's clear to everyone – don't drive to this station, there's nowhere to park. If you put some car parking in then you need to put enough car parking in, or else you cause problems for people who drive to the station expecting to be able to park but then find the parking is full. And providing enough parking to meet the potential demand of a new parkway station with fast trains to London would require a lot of parking, and would generate a large volume of additional traffic on the approach roads, which they are not set up to accommodate.

There's also the problem that the hospital and biomedical campus are trying to discourage people from driving to them, but if you had a huge station car park then it would be very difficult to stop people from driving in and using that car park to access the hospital and biomedical campus.
 

wagnaga

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If you don't put any car parking in then it's clear to everyone – don't drive to this station, there's nowhere to park. If you put some car parking in then you need to put enough car parking in, or else you cause problems for people who drive to the station expecting to be able to park but then find the parking is full. And providing enough parking to meet the potential demand of a new parkway station with fast trains to London would require a lot of parking, and would generate a large volume of additional traffic on the approach roads, which they are not set up to accommodate.
Cambridge North illustrates this point perfectly. It is at a point where consistently people park outside defined spaces on the verge in the car park or on the traffic routes because it no longer has sufficient capacity. Norths location probably means it can better handle car traffic to it than South could - and I say that as someone who lives south of Cambridge but would say North is more convenient.
 

Magdalia

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Cambridge North illustrates this point perfectly. It is at a point where consistently people park outside defined spaces on the verge in the car park or on the traffic routes because it no longer has sufficient capacity. Norths location probably means it can better handle car traffic to it than South could - and I say that as someone who lives south of Cambridge but would say North is more convenient.
Cambridge North is close to the Milton junction on the A14. It is particularly good for villages out towards Newmarket.

Parking at Cambridge North is a bit complicated see here:


Planners have been recommended to approve a 600-space multi-storey car park on the edge of a new Cambridge development.

The Cambridge North plans will eventually include over 400 homes and multiple business buildings next to Cambridge North Station.

Planning documents say the car park would be for "commercial business users only".
The wider development also includes plans for another multi-storey car park, known as a mobility hub, on the site of the existing car park for Cambridge North Station.

This space is designed for rail passengers, however planning documents suggest the new multi-storey could provide additional space for rail passengers in the future.
 

Benjwri

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When everyone is talking about there being plenty of space, they are suggesting we demolish more of the nature reserve for parking? Not to mention the already severe traffic congestion on the local roads.

The realistic answer is that the planning committee was not wanting a car park because of the emissions and congestion it causes. When you then include that building the car park would be on a nature reserve there just isn't a chance it would ever happen (Especially see net biodiversity gain guidelines). The council wasn't particularly happy about the reserve lost for the station itself.
 

Trainbike46

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A station without a car park ? How many stations, particularly newly opened ones on "out of town" brownfield sites, have no car park ? I am saying it is authoritarian because they are deliberately making it awkward to use a car to catch a train, i.e. they are being anti car.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Cambridge South is many things, but "out of town, brownfield site" it absolutely is not! There are three hospitals (soon to be five!), and a multitude of other pharmaceutical and healthcare research facilities, including AstraZeneca, and a large NHS blood and transplant research facility, among others.

It is very clear that you've never been to the biomedical campus, I would suggest taking the points raised by the multiple people who are out where regulars in the area on board.
 

Magdalia

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The council wasn't particularly happy about the reserve lost for the station itself.
The local residents were not very happy either, especially the initial proposals that had the road access on the Hobsons Park side.

The protection of Hobsons Park was an aspect of the planning process that worked very well, with significant reductions on both the permanent land take and lower impact of the construction work on what will return to being part of the Park.

Especially see net biodiversity gain guidelines
There is compensation land added to Hobsons Park at the south end, though a lot of the good work done in creating it may get wrecked by East West Rail!
 

Starmill

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it is in an out of town location
It's not. There's no space for car parking for rail users. This has already been explained quite a few times in the messages above yours.
the station deserves to fail
The station itself is a inanimate object which is already in a finished state and open to the public. It cannot "fail" or "succeed", because it already exists, although the aims of its proponents can. Contrary to your opinion, the initial evidence suggests that its planning aims will succeed perfectly.

Also, it's likely to be the most heavily used new station opening outside London, surpassing Manchester Airport from 1993. Funnily enough, neither station has any car parking for railway users, although I don't see your complaints about the latter.

Either way I'd argue that the evidence from both cases puts it beyond all doubt that you are mistaken in your opinion.
trying to force people onto public transport
Nobody is charging you extra or trying to "force" you out if you would like to take a taxi or have a friend or relative give you a lift to or from the station, so this is also completely hyperbolic.

Either way, the government does see encouragement (though nobody is forced) to use public transport in all areas of society (not just a small area of one city) as a positive. Surely you agree as a private motorist? Think about the extra congestion you'd face otherwise!
 
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Failed Unit

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This is a very add rant to be honest.

To me this situation is perfect for the area. In the past for me to get to area from Welwyn Garden City by public transport wasn’t the worse in the world. Train to Cambridge then double back on a bus. Now I can take a train a walk. It will take a while to see the passenger usage and I suspect as they are Cambridge stations we will see a transfer of traffic between Cambridge main and Cambridge South.

It is possible that it will generate new journeys. I did get people to drive me to the hospital. With this new service I won’t. I suspect I won’t be the only one which is a win for Cambridge.

I am sure regular users of the Cambridge trains will have a guess of how many people board / alight there. I suspect Kings Lynn trains will be a little full when they pick up there.
 

The exile

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But if you want to reduce congestion and car use you have to provide new options. The question is by not providing parking are opportunities being missed?
In this case, what they are wanting to do is reduce car traffic in the area around Cambridge South (by enabling inbound travel by rail). The last thing they want to do is to encourage people to drive to the new station.
 

30907

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I would add one point: there is hardly any residential area of Cambridge for which South is significantly closer BUT is more than a mile away - you are talking Cherry Hinton Road. Beyond that, places like Fulbourn are close to the A11 and anyone heading for London would park at Whittlesford.

Cherry Hinton is of course a potential station site....
 

RUK

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The station is not in central Cambridge it is in an out of town location
The main roads to get to the Biomedical Campus - Trumpington Road (and Trumpington Street, which you can see the end of in the video which I posted, looking down towards the route to the Biomedical Campus, which is the second main road through Cambridge), leading into Long Road, Hills Road, which leads into the main road through Cambridge, which takes ages to get to the Biomedical Campus on by bus/car, Queen Edith’s Way, and the roads to the North and South of Mowbray Road, are still not that big, and are congested.
 

busken

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Most people don’t drive in Cambridge, which has narrow mediaeval, pre-car streets, poor-condition roads, and very little parking in general - they cycle, walk, or take the bus or train instead. There is a lot of traffic congestion, which dissuades people from driving. Hence, cycling is often a lot quicker than driving or taking the bus. The station won’t fail.

This video gives you an idea of how many multiples of times more cyclists there are than cars in Cambridge, far more than in most other places in the U.K., and how congested it is for cars:
Obviously cycling on the pavement and going through red lights is the norm in Cambridge!!
 

RUK

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I am saying it is authoritarian…
You’d probably hate to know that students at the University of Cambridge are forbidden from having a motor vehicle, unless they can get a licence from the University’s Motor Proctor for exceptional circumstances, those being medical reasons, or rarely being a member of a sports or other society which needs to travel far from Cambridge for training or matches, etc.. They’re also forbidden from living from more than 3 miles from the spire of Great St. Mary’s church in the centre of Cambridge (with the exception of Girton College), and they have to live in Cambridge a certain number of nights during term in order to be allowed to graduate - you have to fill out an Exeat form to apply for permission from your Tutor to stay overnight further than that from Cambridge. So they don’t need a motor vehicle anyway, because they aren’t allowed to live far away, or travel or stay far away, in any case. But this reduces the number of motor vehicles, and hence congestion, in Cambridge, since students make up a fairly large proportion of the people living there - around 20%, I believe.
 

ac6000cw

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Obviously cycling on the pavement and going through red lights is the norm in Cambridge!!
It does happen amongst some of the cycling fraternity (I'm saying that as a local). It's why at green traffic lights I look around before setting off...

The cyclists at night with no lights and wearing dark clothing are probably a worse hazard (to themselves).
 

sharpener

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But this reduces the number of motor vehicles, and hence congestion, in Cambridge, since students make up a fairly large proportion of the people living there - around 20%, I believe.

Of which maybe half are at Anglia Ruskin (formerly CCAT) where I don't think there are any rules about motor vehicles.

It does happen amongst some of the cycling fraternity (I'm saying that as a local). It's why at green traffic lights I look around before setting off...

The cyclists at night with no lights and wearing dark clothing are probably a worse hazard (to themselves).

It's when autumn approaches that I wonder why the police do not have a one-week blitz on infringements by cyclists to co-incide with the start of each new academic year. This would swiftly sort out both new and returning students and lead to much better behaviour for the rest of the year.
 

Trainman40083

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I thought the whole point of Cambridge South was to get employees of the companies there, to use the train to get to work there. This, many would not need a car to go to work.
 

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