A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Big Nick
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by Big Nick »

roadtester wrote: Fri Nov 20, 2020 16:31 A local cyclist has an extended moan about the new cycle/horse/pedestrian bridge over the A14 to Barr Hill.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/n ... e-19165610
Considering he writes "..there is a new bridge across the A14. And I have to say, it is wonderful." I can only consider that you got lessons in misleading headline writing from the Daily Mail. It's the non-joined up footpaths nearby he is complaining about. Rather like we do complain about non-joined up road planning.
Hdeng16 wrote: Sat Nov 21, 2020 23:36 I think he’s very much wrong. As someone who rode it from Cambridge up to Huntingdon when it was open but unfinished I didn’t see any of the problems he mentioned.

The new build at the southern end is brilliant, as it the standard LAR section. Admittedly the original aging bridge connecting these 2 sections isn’t the best, but otherwise I feel like he’s moaning for the sake of it.

His comment about the Dry Doddington ‘anti cycling’ gates says it all - all about me me me.
He was talking about Dry Drayton which is 75 miles from Dry Doddington. Dry Drayton is not on the direct route from Cambridge up to Huntingdon so I have to wonder if you have actually seen what obstructions he met there. If it is open to cycles then why should he not complain about the access?

Bar Hill is strange in the way it was deliberately built to have no direct roads to the local villages, only a pair of narrow footpaths or bridleways.
As for opening up the Dry Drayton path, would a series of closely placed slaloms work to slow down the bicyclists?
I'm thinking a few bollards or well designed fences at regular intervals along such routes. Or are these just seen as mere challenges on a race track by the idiot minority?
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the cheesecake man
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by the cheesecake man »

Big Nick wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 13:24
Bar Hill is strange in the way it was deliberately built to have no direct roads to the local villages, only a pair of narrow footpaths or bridleways.
Not really, it was built in the 1960s when the future was everyone driving everywhere so a connection to the main road was all anybody would require. Also why would developers have spent money building multiple connections when one to the main road would do?
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by Hdeng16 »

Big Nick wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 13:24
roadtester wrote: Fri Nov 20, 2020 16:31 A local cyclist has an extended moan about the new cycle/horse/pedestrian bridge over the A14 to Barr Hill.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/n ... e-19165610
Considering he writes "..there is a new bridge across the A14. And I have to say, it is wonderful." I can only consider that you got lessons in misleading headline writing from the Daily Mail. It's the non-joined up footpaths nearby he is complaining about. Rather like we do complain about non-joined up road planning.
Hdeng16 wrote: Sat Nov 21, 2020 23:36 I think he’s very much wrong. As someone who rode it from Cambridge up to Huntingdon when it was open but unfinished I didn’t see any of the problems he mentioned.

The new build at the southern end is brilliant, as it the standard LAR section. Admittedly the original aging bridge connecting these 2 sections isn’t the best, but otherwise I feel like he’s moaning for the sake of it.

His comment about the Dry Doddington ‘anti cycling’ gates says it all - all about me me me.
He was talking about Dry Drayton which is 75 miles from Dry Doddington. Dry Drayton is not on the direct route from Cambridge up to Huntingdon so I have to wonder if you have actually seen what obstructions he met there. If it is open to cycles then why should he not complain about the access?

Bar Hill is strange in the way it was deliberately built to have no direct roads to the local villages, only a pair of narrow footpaths or bridleways.
As for opening up the Dry Drayton path, would a series of closely placed slaloms work to slow down the bicyclists?
I'm thinking a few bollards or well designed fences at regular intervals along such routes. Or are these just seen as mere challenges on a race track by the idiot minority?
Drayton/Doddington - apologies for any offence caused - just an error.

No I have no seen the specific ‘anti-cycling’ gates here, although I did ride around the Bar Hill ‘ring road’ and didn’t see anything untoward on either of the footpaths Exiting south. Despite this - I’ve already said these gates annoy me too - it’s just having read the whole article it just sounds like a bit of a rant with extra fluff included to try and make his case. There is very little wrong with the highways England scheme area - just winds me up when someone feels the need to moan at everything.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by doebag »

the cheesecake man wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 14:03
Big Nick wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 13:24
Bar Hill is strange in the way it was deliberately built to have no direct roads to the local villages, only a pair of narrow footpaths or bridleways.
Not really, it was built in the 1960s when the future was everyone driving everywhere so a connection to the main road was all anybody would require. Also why would developers have spent money building multiple connections when one to the main road would do?
Yep, the first residents moved in in the late ‘60s when the then A604 was an S2 road. I think it has been mentioned here in the past that the residents of Dry Drayton ‘campaigned’ to prevent a vehicle route into the village.
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Chris Bertram
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by Chris Bertram »

doebag wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 07:50
the cheesecake man wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 14:03
Big Nick wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 13:24
Bar Hill is strange in the way it was deliberately built to have no direct roads to the local villages, only a pair of narrow footpaths or bridleways.
Not really, it was built in the 1960s when the future was everyone driving everywhere so a connection to the main road was all anybody would require. Also why would developers have spent money building multiple connections when one to the main road would do?
Yep, the first residents moved in in the late ‘60s when the then A604 was an S2 road. I think it has been mentioned here in the past that the residents of Dry Drayton ‘campaigned’ to prevent a vehicle route into the village.
No doubt expecting - with some justification - that it would be used as a corner-cut between A45 (now A428) and A604 (now A14), a movement still missing at the Girton interchange. A corner-cut is actually possible, a slightly convoluted one via Madingley, but the Dry-Drayton to Bar Hill short-cut would have been much more appealing.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Chris Bertram wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 09:59No doubt expecting - with some justification - that it would be used as a corner-cut between A45 (now A428) and A604 (now A14), a movement still missing at the Girton interchange. A corner-cut is actually possible, a slightly convoluted one via Madingley, but the Dry-Drayton to Bar Hill short-cut would have been much more appealing.
The problem as I understand it was traffic from Bar Hill going into Cambridge via Dry Drayton and Madingley, with the route as far as Madingley being on narrow back roads, or indeed down Dry Drayton "High Street" which was (and is) a dead end just leading to most of the village.

A route to Bar Hill wouldn't have been of any benefit to people wanting to cut the corner: you could have already gone through Dry Drayton towards Oakington and that road gave access to the A604/A14 until a few years ago. Going via Bar Hill (at least as built) would be slower as you'd need to go halfway round the 40mph loop road.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by Alderpoint »

medgoode wrote: Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:52 There has been a message on the former A14C2H Twitter (it's now rebranded for the A428 scheme) announcing the access to Huntingdon station car park will now be from the A1307 (former A14). Here is a screen grab of the PDF:

Huntingdon_railway_access_A1307.jpg

This obviously means a bit more of the old A14 will be reopened.
Delayed. From FB:
Unfortunately the opening of the new Huntingdon station access road, which was planned for Monday 30 November, has been delayed.
At the moment we do not have a new confirmed date, but as soon as we do, we will update you.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by KeithW »

crb11 wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 20:35
Chris Bertram wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 09:59No doubt expecting - with some justification - that it would be used as a corner-cut between A45 (now A428) and A604 (now A14), a movement still missing at the Girton interchange. A corner-cut is actually possible, a slightly convoluted one via Madingley, but the Dry-Drayton to Bar Hill short-cut would have been much more appealing.
The problem as I understand it was traffic from Bar Hill going into Cambridge via Dry Drayton and Madingley, with the route as far as Madingley being on narrow back roads, or indeed down Dry Drayton "High Street" which was (and is) a dead end just leading to most of the village.

A route to Bar Hill wouldn't have been of any benefit to people wanting to cut the corner: you could have already gone through Dry Drayton towards Oakington and that road gave access to the A604/A14 until a few years ago. Going via Bar Hill (at least as built) would be slower as you'd need to go halfway round the 40mph loop road.
The core problem was that Bar Hill only had one good route out and that was the A14, if that was closed the only alternate route was the Dry Drayton Road to Oakington and then south to the Huntingdon Road. Had they left the route to Dry Drayton open it would as you say have become intolerable in Dry Drayton and Madingley. That said what should have been done as part of the planning of Bar Hill was to provide an alternative access , perhaps via a link road south to the then A45 at Hardwick. At the same time they could have closed the insanely dangerous Lolworth junction on the old A14. I cant help wondering what genius thought it was a good idea to have a new town, industrial estate and city crematorium accessible by only one road. Even at its maddest the Peterlee Development Corporation didn't do that.

.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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KeithW wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 10:58 The core problem was that Bar Hill only had one good route out and that was the A14, if that was closed the only alternate route was the Dry Drayton Road to Oakington and then south to the Huntingdon Road. Had they left the route to Dry Drayton open it would as you say have become intolerable in Dry Drayton and Madingley. That said what should have been done as part of the planning of Bar Hill was to provide an alternative access , perhaps via a link road south to the then A45 at Hardwick. At the same time they could have closed the insanely dangerous Lolworth junction on the old A14. I cant help wondering what genius thought it was a good idea to have a new town, industrial estate and city crematorium accessible by only one road. Even at its maddest the Peterlee Development Corporation didn't do that.
Well yes. It looks like a sensible option would have been to build a new road from Bar Hill to connect to Scotland Road (the Dry Drayton/A45 road) south of Dry Drayton, and possibly also a second one to join the Dry Drayton/Oakington road at or near the A604 junction. (That would have ended up being a major entry point to the development, so you would probably have needed to improve the junction too.)

I don't know what the logic behind siting the Crematorium there was - slightly further up to give it access from the Dry Drayton/Oakington junction would have made more sense.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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crb11 wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:47 I don't know what the logic behind siting the Crematorium there was - slightly further up to give it access from the Dry Drayton/Oakington junction would have made more sense.
The Crematorium was originally built in 1938, when the A604 Huntingdon Road was a S2 with little traffic
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Ruperts Trooper wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:27
crb11 wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:47 I don't know what the logic behind siting the Crematorium there was - slightly further up to give it access from the Dry Drayton/Oakington junction would have made more sense.
The Crematorium was originally built in 1938, when the A604 Huntingdon Road was a S2 with little traffic
The siting is very unfortunate, and long been a source of pain to locals. With the old road, there was always the worry that hearses/mourners might end up in a traffic jam and miss their slot, and the access off one of the least attractive and busiest roads in the UK didn't allow for anything like the sort of calm, dignified approach you'd like for such a facility.

At least the new road and associated developments deal with the worst of it.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Yes: church-based services there always required more organisation as many in the congregation didn't feel safe driving there and back (either with the emotions of the event, or just on that stretch of the A14 full stop). I've been to one commital there since the back entrance was open, and the whole thing was much more peaceful, as it should be.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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roadtester wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:35

The siting is very unfortunate, and long been a source of pain to locals. With the old road, there was always the worry that hearses/mourners might end up in a traffic jam and miss their slot, and the access off one of the least attractive and busiest roads in the UK didn't allow for anything like the sort of calm, dignified approach you'd like for such a facility.
My 'personal best' was late by over 90 minutes as we were stuck in the queue behind an accident. But then so were the funerals before and after us, the cremtorium staff got used to these holdups and were very good at rejigging services and working past their normal closing time.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Ruperts Trooper wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:27
crb11 wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:47 I don't know what the logic behind siting the Crematorium there was - slightly further up to give it access from the Dry Drayton/Oakington junction would have made more sense.
The Crematorium was originally built in 1938, when the A604 Huntingdon Road was a S2 with little traffic
Indeed but the on line dualling carried out in the 1970's was a rather poor implementation as was the original Bar Hill access which was a simple tee junction.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by Ruperts Trooper »

KeithW wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 13:59
Ruperts Trooper wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:27
crb11 wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:47 I don't know what the logic behind siting the Crematorium there was - slightly further up to give it access from the Dry Drayton/Oakington junction would have made more sense.
The Crematorium was originally built in 1938, when the A604 Huntingdon Road was a S2 with little traffic
Indeed but the on line dualling carried out in the 1970's was a rather poor implementation as was the original Bar Hill access which was a simple tee junction.
Agreed - the issue was the '70s dualling, not the siting of the Crematorium.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Sometimes, I simply love reading through the conversation flows on this website! 😁❤️👍
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by NICK 647063 »

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned but thought I would have a look at the crematorium on street view to see the old access arrangements and noticed streetview is now updated on the eastbound carriageway since the scene opened.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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Last time I was there I was amazed at how much traffic noise was reduced by the noise barrier where the original entrance was.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

Post by B1040 »

So today, nudged by the road closure in St Ives after the tanker accident, I joined the A1307 near Huntingdon bus station and drove down it and then the A14 & M11 to Cambridge. Ramsey to Girton took as long as Girton to Cambridge down Barton Road.
I'll be trying a different way into Cambridge next time!
The link road however, was lovely.
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Re: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

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doebag wrote: Fri Nov 27, 2020 13:21 Last time I was there I was amazed at how much traffic noise was reduced by the noise barrier where the original entrance was.
Funny you should mention that. On the night of 2 December, I stayed in this Premier Inn next to J32 of the A14 (cheap rates, needed to lock myself away without distractions to get some work done and just fancied a change of scenery after a month of lockdown) - this is on the Cambridge bypass section rather than the new bit but was renewed/widened in a similar timescale.

https://www.google.com/maps/@52.2353659 ... 384!8i8192

My room was on the A14 side of the building but I was surprised that no traffic noise entered the room at all. I assumed the window must be a) fixed and b) triple-glazed, but in the morning I noticed that the window was only double glazed and also could be opened. When I opened it, I was amazed at how little noise there was - the wall/fence seems to be very effective at blocking the noise. After driving on that bit of the A14, I also suspect the road may also have some sort of noise reducing surface.
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