£4.7m fencing and barriers planned for Cambridgeshire guided busway after three deaths

A council that was fined £6million after three deaths on its guided busway has agreed to install fencing and barriers along the entire route.

Cambridgeshire County Council said the works would “significantly” reduce risk of users “falling or moving into” the busway, which runs from St Ives to Cambridge.

Jennifer Taylor, Steve Moir and Kathleen Pitts died after collisions on the route between 2015 and 2021.

A teenage cyclist suffered life-changing injuries when he collided with a bus in the guided section of the busway parallel to King’s Hedges Road.

The council said a “new and robust” safety regime had been in place since it was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court in April.

The authority has also agreed to tackle flooding on sections of a path that runs alongside the busway between the Holywell crossing and Fen Drayton.

Solutions could include a pontooned walkway at an estimated cost of £5m, although further design work is required.

Frank Jordan, executive director for place and sustainability, told a meeting of the authority’s highways and transport committee yesterday (Tuesday): “The proposal is to have fencing or barriers across the entirety of the busway.

“This will significantly reduce risk of users of the busway falling or moving into the guided busway, which is part of the issues that have been identified through previous risk assessments and incidents.

“The second proposal is to implement measures that would enable the track to be accessed in the event of flooding, and this particular location has been identified in the paper, and therefore we’re proposing taking forms and measures to address that issue. We feel that flooding is also creating unnecessary risk for users of the busway.”

Concerns were raised about the need for better public engagement, as well as the importance of addressing collision risks between cyclists and pedestrians.

In a question from John Morris, founder member of the Hunts Walking and Cycling Group, he told the committee that “14 years of inaction” on what should be an “exemplar active travel route” was not acceptable given the thousands of people using the busway each month.

“There have been too many excuses for a lack of action over too many years,” he added.

Anna Williams, of cycling charity Camcycle, echoed these comments. She said Camcycle had been “trying to engage” with the council “for seven years on safety aspects” and “for 14 years on issues around flooding”.

She said “time and time again” the organisation’s emails “have been ignored”

“We have not been consulted on any busway-related matter,” she added.

Anna added: “Many more people have walked, cycled and wheeled here than were expected, and this provides a window into the huge potential there is for more urban and rural active travel journeys in our county.

“However, there is a shadow to this success cast by those who have been unnecessarily injured and killed on the path, and the fact that for many months of the year, parts of the path are not safely accessible.”

In April 2024, a permanent fence was installed on the southern section of the busway between the train station and Long Road Bridge.

It was agreed at the meeting that fencing and barriers will now be installed across the whole busway, with a current estimated cost of £4.7m.

The council said the work will be completed using a “risk-based approach” rather than going from one end of the busway to the other.

Following questions from members, the council said that public engagement on the works will likely take place within the next four weeks.

In April, a judge rejected the county council’s request for six years to pay its £6m fine – instead demanding it pays up in three.