OpenStreetMap
Cambridgeshire (mis-)guided busway and cycle path
Апублікавана карыстальнікам Donald Allwright 29 Верасень 2009 на мове EnglishHaving crossed the path of the guided busway on foot on Sunday, I realised that the cycle path alongside it (which doubles up as an access road for the guideway itself) seemed to be complete but was not on the map. So armed with strong lights, GPS and accompanied by a couple of friends we decided to start at the point where it joins Milton Road and head north-west and just see what we found.
Essentially there is now a path of compacted gravel which goes at least as far as Swavesey (where we turned round), which changes from side to side a few times. However in places it is rather rough for a road bike to go along, so there were a number of places (particularly at junctions) where we had to get off and go onto the path of the main guideway. There were also a not inconsiderable number of objects placed in the way, including heavy machinery. I have been told that the cycle path is due to be tarmacked, but I don't know whether this is along the whole length or just some of it. In short, although there are signs indicating that it is a cycle path it doesn't seem to be completely finished yet, although there were no signs indicating that the public shouldn't go along it. In fact we met a handful of security guards near some of the machinery, and none of them was in the least bit concerned by our presence.
At Swavesey there was a nice sign indicating that it was 11 miles to Cambridge and 3 miles to St. Ives, that it was part of NCN route 51 and that it was accessible for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Seeing this sign made me very pleased, but it would have been nice to see similar signs confirming the route at the junctions in Longstanton, Oakington and Histon. Maybe they'll appear in due course. I've left the ncn_ref=51 off the sections nearer to Cambridge due to this uncertainty.
Something for the next few weeks is to complete the route from Swavesey to St. Ives. I was amazed how much quicker this relatively straight route was than going along the windy roads, and despite the controversy over the guided busway itself, I have no doubt that the cycle route along it is a great asset to Cambridgeshire.
Абмеркаванне
Каментар ад davidearl у 30 Верасень 2009 у 09:46
The cycleway isn't finished (or at least, it may be built but it isn't open). The section from Milton Road to Longstanton is going to be properly surfaced immediately following the opening of the busway itself.
I approached the busway team at the county council not long ago for permission to to a complete survey of the guideway before it opens, but we were unable to do this because the whole building project is still in the hands of BAM Nuttall the contractor, so the County can't give permission to access the guideway or cycle track until the contractor releases it. Technically, your survey was trespassing! Certainly you need to mark the whole thing as highway=construction, construction=cycleway for now, and the section south of Longstanton needs to stay that way until the surface is applied.
The contractors hand over to the County Council at the end of October. The bus will start running before the end of November (they haven't announced the exact date yet). The cycleway surfacing should be done by the end of the year (I don't know whether they will open the section north of Longstanton in advance of that, but keeping people off it will be tricky). The Trumpington section won't open until next year, and the cycleway surfacing will also have a delay there.
David
Каментар ад Donald Allwright у 30 Верасень 2009 у 10:20
Thanks for the information David, I wasn't aware of the current status as it has changed from the original schedule and I've not kept up to date, other than knowing that the buses hadn't yet started running.
You raise an interesting point about trespassing. I was motivated to do the survey after seeing other cyclists on the route, so if it was trespassing then (a) I'm not alone, (b) there is no clear indication on the ground that this is the case, and (c) it raises an interesting question. If I come across a route which is clearly marked as a cycle route - which this is - then is it not a fair assumption that it is a public right of way and that I'm allowed on it? After all, OSM is about mapping what we see on the ground, which in this case includes such signs in full view. I'd presume that if it's still technically private then these signs should not be there (or at least should be covered up, as you often see at construction sites on motorways for example). There were clear signs that you should keep off the guideway itself at the eastern end. What's more, some of it (between Park Lane (Histon) and Oakington in particular) was previously a right of way in any case, and I didn't see any signs stating that the right of way had been temporarily suspended due to construction works (although previously this was only a public footpath which cycles were not allowed on, if I remember correctly).
Каментар ад Jon Schneider у 30 Верасень 2009 у 12:49
Out near Swavesey we saw signs strongly indicating it is already bridleway and part of National Cycle Route 51 all the way to Cambridge. Or maybe it was only possible to see these signs by crossing barriers.
Каментар ад Donald Allwright у 30 Верасень 2009 у 12:54
There were no barriers to the cycle route at Swavesey, I think there may have been some on the busway though. If I manage to get out there at the weekend I'll take a photograph of the area, including the signs.
Каментар ад Donald Allwright у 30 Верасень 2009 у 15:21
Clarification from Bob Menzies of Cambridge County Council that the cycle path, although complete, is part of the construction site and therefore not officially open. The contractors have a responsibility to cover the signs up, so as not to mislead people into using it inadvertently (my guess is that they aren't that bothered with enforcing it). The exception is the public footpath between Oakington and Park Lane (Histon) which until then is still a public footpath. so is accessible to pedestrians but of course not cyclists or horse riders.
The Cambridge County Council website states:
"BAM Nuttall, who are building The Busway, plan to hand over the track between St Ives and Cambridge at the end of October 2009. The Busway will open within one month of the handover.".
So not long to go (assuming no more delays of course!) but until then it is officially highway=construction, construction=cycleway. Will update ASAP.