Community transport ideas take shape

Community ideas for improving transport in Cambridge are taking shape, following two workshops last week where Waipā District Councillors dug into ideas generated by the public.

At a workshop on Friday, May 8, elected members explored six community-suggested ideas for new river crossings, alongside parking management for the Cambridge Connections Transport Plan.

The workshop was informed by GPS travel data collected across the year, showing 1400 vehicle trips in and around Cambridge each weekday.

Of the six bridge ideas put forward by the community, adding capacity to the existing ‘low level’ bridge, and/or a new crossing in town or mid-west of the town emerged as the early frontrunners.

Cambridge Connections is working to tackle three key transport challenges, as identified by the community. These are the limitations and resilience of existing river crossings, the impact of the town’s rapid growth on the transport network and managing heavy vehicles travelling through and across town.

Elected members also responded positively to draft parking management objectives, which will guide how parking is managed. These came directly from ideas raised by the community:

• Support a vibrant Cambridge town centre
• Put the right parking in the right places
• Encourage travel choices that reduce parking demand
• Provide safe and accessible parking facilities
• Create a consistent and easy-to-understand parking system.

At a separate workshop on Tuesday, May 5, the elected members discussed how the Council could leverage Waikato Regional Council’s study on improving public transport for Cambridge, and progress walking, cycling and micromobility priorities. Improving safe connections between Cambridge High School and Leamington was one of the priorities – a direct result of ideas from the community.

These sessions complement workshops being held with the Cambridge Connections Community Reference Group and the Cambridge Community Board.

The Cambridge Connections Transport Plan will be guided by optimising the existing transport network, considering new infrastructure where needed, and building on work already underway by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and Waikato Regional Council.

What’s next?

Transport options will be presented to the Strategic Planning and Policy Committee on Wednesday, June 3.