A new road classification for Cambridge gives us an opportunity to make a major change to the way that traffic and people use roads and streets to move around the city. Space on the roads could be freed up for more frequent and reliable public transport. It could also create a safer and more attractive environment for people walking, cycling or wheeling.

Managing traffic in Cambridge provides an opportunity to develop a clear sense of place, particularly in the city centre, with more pleasant spaces to visit and spend time, cleaner air and a safer environment for all road users.

The aims of the new road classification are to:

• support improved quality of life
• help meet the challenges of climate change
• help to create a sense of place as part of the highway network
• improve health and wellbeing by providing a nicer environment for physical activity
• lower air pollution
• improve access to work, education, leisure, and green spaces.

A new road classification for Cambridge would take several years to put in place and it would need to be brought in through a number of stages.

In 2022, we consulted on the way the city’s road network could work in the future.

Our consultation was on conceptual proposals for a revised road network hierarchy for Greater Cambridge. Shortly after the consultation closed, the work was put on hold, pending a decision on Making Connections proposals. That was because the decision whether to introduce a road user charge and to invest in a doubling of the bus network substantially affects what is desirable and feasible in terms of changes to the road network (by affecting the overall traffic load on the network).

Following the decision not to proceed with Making Connections, officers were able to come back to this workstream with a clearer sense of the likely future conditions on the network, which is necessary to inform the next stage of technical work.

In March 2024, our executive board considered the consultation response and agreed that further work is required to consider both consultation feedback received, and to undertake appropriate technical work. This will include updating proposals in light of the decision not to proceed with Making Connections, which would have substantially reduced the overall traffic load on the road network. Feedback from the public during the Making Connections consultation about the importance of improving bus reliability should also be considered.

It is therefore advised that further consideration be given to the proposals consulted upon in 2022. Any revised proposals would be developed through the Greater Cambridge transport strategy led by the Cambridgeshire County Council in partnership with the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, the GCP, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.