By Hannah Brown

Copyright cambridge-news

A junction in Cambridge could see new stopping restrictions imposed to prevent delivery trucks from obstructing visibility and impacting on road safety. Cambridgeshire County Council is considering implementing a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to introduce a no loading at any time restriction on both sides of a short length of Cowper Road, at its junction with Cherry Hinton Road.

A county council report said any short stay parking near the junction “obstructs visibility”, which it said had “road safety implications”. The report said: “The application is to introduce a loading prohibition in Cowper Road to address concerns about loading and unloading, other short-stay parking and related concerns.

“The proposal is relatively modest in scale and impact. It adds no loading at any time (yellow kerbs marks) to the existing no waiting at any time (double yellow lines), which cover a relatively short length (approximately 22 metres) of Cowper Road, close to Cherry Hinton Road.”

A public consultation on the plans saw 10 people raise objections and 22 people share support for the proposals. Those in support of the new restrictions said parking at the junction was making the road “dangerous”.

One person said: “The present situation with taxis, delivery trucks and customer cars parking around the top of Cowper Road is very dangerous. This is a busy pedestrian route for school children and having to cross over the road between the cars and vans is awful.”

Another supporter said: “The amount of illegal parking on this junction has increased exponentially in recent years. At times it can even be difficult to turn into Cowper Road due to the volume of traffic parked at this point.”

However, some of those who raised objections shared concerns that the restrictions would only push the parking issues elsewhere. One person said: “While I recognise the need to improve road safety at this busy junction, I cannot support this proposal in its current form.

“The proposed restriction, though well-intentioned, will inevitably displace the very problems it aims to solve, pushing loading, delivery, and waiting activity further down Cowper Road, directly into the heart of the residential area where I and other residents live.”

Concerns were also raised about the impact the loading restrictions this could have on the shops at the end of Cowper Road. One objector said: “I live diagonally opposite NJ Groceries and am a frequent shopper. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to buy Asian products on my doorstep.

“Living so nearby, I observe the parking situation and cannot understand what the problem is (and I am a pedestrian who sees some awful parking and driving behaviour further up Cherry Hinton Road every day).

“Let the shop be. We are fortunate to have a small, bustling business offering products that we’d otherwise have to go to Mill Road for. Cherry Hinton Road is an urban and diverse area, not a village.”

‘Restrictions will address significant problem in the area’

The proposed TRO was considered by councillors from the county council and Cambridge City Council at a Cambridge Joint Area Committee meeting this week (September 24). Councillor Tim Griffin (Labour) said the problems with parking at the junction had been an issue for “several years”.

However, he added that he wanted to stress the importance of the grocery store to the area. He said: “I would just like to say for the record the community really appreciates this grocery store, it is an important contribution to the community.

“There were some objections there concerned about the impact on the grocery store, there may be some, but it is the wholesale business run out the back of the store that is where most of the traffic problems come from.

“I’m hoping the owners will think about moving that to a more appropriate location and I think there is plenty of room for loading and unloading for the grocery store itself if that is done.”

Councillor Elliot Tong (Green Party) said the measures would “address a really significant problem in the area”. The councillors agreed to recommend that the loading restrictions should be introduced.

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