Bridge location ideas, safer walking and cycling routes, and parking options will all be on the table for discussion at Wednesday's Waipā District Council Strategic Planning and Policy Committee meeting.
Elected members will decide which of six community-proposed options for Cambridge's river crossings should be investigated further – including a new bridge to the east, far west, or mid-west of Cambridge, an in-town bridge, a bridge at an alternative location, or increasing the capacity of an existing crossing.
Also on the agenda, is whether to extend the Victoria Street cycleway across the Waikato River into Leamington and building safer pathway routes between schools and their communities.
Mayor Mike Pettit said the meeting was an important milestone in the Cambridge Connections project.
“This will be the community’s plan – shaped by ideas and priorities that the people of Cambridge have shared with us. Next week we will take the next step towards turning these ideas into real options for the future of our town.
“We want Cambridge to be a great place to get around – whether you’re driving, walking, cycling, moving freight, or catching the bus – and this is how we will get there together.”
The committee will consider feedback from transport plan workshops with elected members, Cambridge Community Board and the Cambridge Connections Community Reference Group. The workshops reflected themes based on previous feedback, including from the Ideas Forum and wider community.
Technical assessment work conducted after Wednesday’s meeting will enable the council to narrow the ideas down to the preferred area for a bridge to be included in the draft Cambridge Connections Transport Plan.
The draft plan is being developed to solve growth-related transport problems defined by the community and will be approved for community consultation at the Strategic Planning and Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 7.
The final transport plan will be approved at the final committee meeting of the year on Wednesday, December 2.
