There are plans for an expanded park and ride in Trumpington, but some are not happy about “nuisance” coaches arriving late at night and early in the morning.
Trumpington Park & Ride is located north-west of Foxton, near the A1309 Hauxton Road, and currently covers an area of approximately 7.6 hectares.
The site – which allows commuters to park their cars and access Cambridge by bus – currently has 1,340 car parking spaces, including 24 bays for Blue Badge holders, 560 cycle parking spaces, 10 bus bays and a single-storey amenity building.
A new proposal seeks to operate the existing site “on a 24-hour basis” together with a proposed extension to accommodate 274 additional car parking spaces – including disabled parking bays – additional bus and coach stops, and a reconfiguration of existing car parking and the site entrance.
The new design will allow pedestrian and cycle links to Trumpington Meadows and will include new undercover cycle parking.
A spokesman for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals in Cambridge – said they “fully support” the applications and “strongly encourages the work to come forward as a matter of urgency” as demand is expected to surge with the opening of AstraZeneca’s headquarters and the new Royal Papworth Hospital in the biomedical campus.
The CUH spokesman said: “Trumpington is Cambridge’s busiest park and ride site and this application comes at a time when the site is consistently near or at capacity with significant further demand expected both now and in the coming years.
“Increasing the parking provision at Trumpington Park & Ride is required to cope with demand from a variety of individuals wishing to access the campus for treatment, work or to visit a patient at the hospitals in addition to those accessing Cambridge station and the city centre.
“Park and ride sites provide an opportunity to many to access these sites sustainably for the last mile(s) of their journey whether that be by bus, bike or walking – use of facilities such as this should be actively encouraged to reduce congestion on the local highways in Cambridge.”
The Trumpington Residents’ Association, however, note the site is in the middle of a large and growing residential area.
While not opposing the scheme, they says they do object to very early and very late hours of operation on any day and particularly at weekends.
The residents’ association also objects to 24-hour use of bus layover bays on any day, saying it would cause “nuisance” for people living in the area.
The plans will go before Cambridge City Council’s Joint Development Control Committee on Wednesday.
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