Hills Road project update 2

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GCP Hills Road project update

Hills Road 2 a

Welcome

Welcome to the second update on our Hills Road project.  

Work has continued behind the scenes on this scheme to understand the possible impacts the proposals could have and you can find out more about the process, and plans to engage with you, in this update.  

All the information about the project, and the proposals that went out to public consultation, is available at:  www.greatercambridge.org.uk/Hills_Road 

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What's next?

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Modelling

In the last update we said we were going to do some modelling on the options for the Hills Road/Lensfield Road junction. This work is underway and we expect it to take several months for this vital part of the project to be completed as we build up a detailed picture of the possible effects the changes could have on residents and roads in the surrounding area.

Andi Redhead, part of the project team, tells us more:

“Over the last few months, we’ve been developing a preliminary design to take to public consultation in the autumn.

“It builds on the two early options that went out to consultation in 2023 and has been informed by feedback received from stakeholders and members of the public. We are also using information from Cambridgeshire County Council as part of the Stage 1 Road Safety Audit and the review of movement survey data we’ve already gathered to ensure the design reflects the needs of people who use the road. We are also looking at ways in which green space could be improved along Hills Road.

“We’ll also be doing strategic traffic modelling to assess the possible impact the core scheme and alternative Lensfield Road junction layout could have on residents and the surrounding road network. This will include the potential rerouting of traffic. We’ll use Cambridgeshire County Council’s model to provide a high-level assessment of the relative impact of the scheme on the local road network.

“As well as developing the scheme design, identifying opportunities to improve green space and undertaking scheme impact modelling, an Outline Business Case is being developed. The Outline Business Case sets out the investment case for the scheme including the need for the improvements, the scheme costs and benefits, value for money and further details on how the scheme will be delivered.”

Paul van de Bulk, GCP Project manager for the Hills Road project, tells us why this work is important:

“We want to understand the impact our proposals could have before we go out to further public consultation later this year, taking into account that people have told us they’re concerned that restricting some vehicle movements could displace traffic onto other roads.

“Modelling is a standard part of developing the design for each of our projects. The work the project team is doing involves looking at where vehicles would be likely to go if there are changes at the Hills Road/Lensfield Road junction. We want to understand the impact on residents, businesses, students and commuters, so we need to feed the information from the modelling into developing our proposals for this key city centre junction.”


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Engagement

We’re looking forward to continuing our engagement with you over the coming months as the proposed design for Hills Road develops.

This summer, we plan to hold a workshop for residents’ associations and stakeholders impacted by the proposed changes to the section of Hills Road from Purbeck Road to the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road.

If you represent a residents’ association, a local business, or school, further or higher education institute in the proposed scheme area, please email us at contactus@greatercambridge.org.uk so that we can make sure we don’t miss you off the invite list.

There will be a further opportunity for members of the public to feedback on the proposed designs this autumn when we go out to public consultation.

Please contact us if you have any queries about the project at contactus@greatercambridge.org.uk