camToo project

The camToo project opposes bridging the Commons

The camToo Project is opposing extending the Guided Bus by a bridge oss Stourbridge Common or Ditton Meadows, saying the County Council should be widening the railway embankment instead. Plans published by the Council show the camToo route as a core element in their strategy for Cambridge's future transport. The camToo Project has also called for Cambridge City Council to carry out a study into the wider Quality of Life / Community benefits offered by the new transport route. Full Press Release attached

County Council to adopt The camToo Project?

The probability of Cambridgeshire County Council adopting The camToo Project has moved much higher following the inclusion of the project's transport proposals in a draft list of projects worth a total of £500 million published by the Council as being essential precursors before Congestion Charging can be introduced into Cambridge. "This means we can now concentrate on maximising the community benefits from the new river crossing" said Project Manager Richard Moseley when launching a new leaflet describing the benefits, attached. A link to the press release from the County Council's on Congestion Charging is also attached.
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Consultants endorse camToo proposals

The consultants who have produced a sustainable transport strategy for East Cambridge have endorsed the new river crossings proposed in The camToo Project. An application has been made for funds (which could be GDP250,000) for the full appraisal of the project called for in the Cambridge Local Plan. See link for full press release

Start camToo Now!

The latest press release calls for applications from consultants to kick start the planning process for the project, see below ?Start Planning camToo Now? That?s the message from camToo project manager Richard Moseley after it was revealed by Bob Menzies, leader of the Guided Bus project, that a special factory is to be set up locally to make the concrete segments that will form the track for the Guided Bus. Both Mr Moseley and Bob Menzies, were presenting at the prestigious Institution of Civil Engineers? conference on sustainable transport in Norwich last week. ?The news that a special factory is to be built for the production of the 12 metre beams for the guideway makes it imperative that planning for the next stage of the busway ? camToo ? starts now? says Mr Moseley, ?so that the factory can keep running once stage 1 has been built. Given the complexity of The camToo project, even starting now will run the risk that the factory may be closed before construction of the extension across the Cam to Newmarket Road can start?. ?At least our market research shows that, unlike Stage 1 of the Guided Bus, there is substantial backing for a better route between the Science Park and the City Centre than that offered by Milton Road?. ?The Cambridge Local Plan calls for a full social, environmental and economic appraisal of The camToo Project before it can start. We have identified some potential sources of funding such as the Green Infrastructure Fund, and so are now looking to put together a consortium with the expertise to carry out the appraisal,? he added. ?Anyone interested should contact us via St John?s Innovation Centre.?

The camToo Project included in 2006 Cambridge Development Plan

The inclusion of The camToo Project in the 2006 Cambridge Development Plan means there may be a chance to save the trees on Milton Road from the Guided Bus now that the latter has received funding from the government. The attached press release describes how the door has already been opened for bids for stage 2 of the Guided Bus which will route the buses over the camToo transport link and could be up and running by end 2010, i.e. 2 years after stage 1.

Artist's impression of The camToo Project

This file has images of a painting by Dr Tom Davies. It shows a Guided Bus on its way to Newmarket Road from Cowley Road and the associated flood relief channel on the right hand side of Ditton Meadows. This flood relief channel may be needed to prevent the over 70 houseboats now moored in Cambridge from being swept away during floods. In the background is the Cambridge Outer Circle Cycleway (City Route 62) crossing the Cam and Ditton Meadows to avoid Fen Ditton High Street.

Market Research gets underway

On-line market research Following the award of a prestigious Sports Marketing Research Trust Award for market research for The camToo project, the questionnaires are online, - see links for questionnaires for residents, non rowing users of the Cam, and also, rowers. The residents' questionnaire asks for opinions on the camToo bus link between the Science Park and Newmarket Road. We believe this is the first market research to include questions on the Guided Bus! More information on the awards can be found on the Sports Marketing Surveys web site:- http://www.sms.sportcentric.com under Sports Marketing Research Trust

Alistair Darling commends The camToo Project

The camtoo Project has been commended by the Secretary State for Transport in his letter giving the Cambridge ? Huntingdon Guided Bus system the go ahead. The camToo Project team are commended for their ?useful preliminary work? towards stage 2 of the system which will see the Guided Bus cross the river Cam alongside the railway line, the transport link that initiates the camToo flood relief channel. ?The commendation by Alistair Darling indicates that the extension of the Guided Bus to Newmarket Road has been recognised as the preferred route for it into Cambridge even though initially the buses will use Milton Road?, claims camToo project manager Richard Moseley. ?We argued all along that the only way to make the bus viable is to use it to connect places that will generate patronage which is a prime objective of the camToo route.? ?The Department for Transport?s acknowledgement of the benefits of The camToo Project follows the recognition of the project by Cambridge City Council which will see the project included in the Local District Plan ? another major step forward?, added Mr Moseley, ?indeed there is now a strong chance we shall see the first design work start before the end of 2006 as the project now becomes eligible for public funding?. ?Another positive stroke has been the acceptance by the ?authorities? that the Cam is an important leisure and sports facility in Cambridge and that it needs upgrading to take the extra number of crews and boats that the proposed 30% increase in both student and city populations will place on it ? the section of river that will be dualled by the camToo flood relief channel is used for competitions on 45 days a year, making it, we believe, the most intensively used piece of water in the country?.

The camToo Project wins market research grant

The camToo Project, an innovative project to build a new mile of the river Cam and provide a much needed transport link between the city centre and the world renowned Science Park, announced today (26th October 2005) that it had been offered a much coveted Sports Marketing Research Trust award for market research.

The camToo Project recognised

A "Statement of Common Ground" has been submitted to the Cambridge City Local Development Plan by agreement with the City Council. The attached file contains extracts from the meetings that led to this, plus the Statement. It is expected this will be included in the Plan when it is published in 2006 giving the project it's first official recognition and opening the way for an application for public funds for a full appraisal

Flood relief channel for Cambridge?

The accompanying press release was issued on September 2nd, summary below The proposal to build a 1 mile flood relief channel for Cambridge to provide 50 more mooring slots and the possibility of 3 abreast racing over a 1,000 metre rowing regatta course has inched closer following the announcement that The camToo Project have commissioned a local civil engineering firm Mott MacDonald to carry out a flood risk benefit study on the new channel.

camToo back on track

A recent U turn by Cambridgeshire County Council over extending the St Ives - Cambridge guided bus by building a new bridge across the river Cam means The camToo Project is back on track, for more details see link below

Final submission to Guided Bus Inquiry

Our final submission to the Inquiry is attached to this news item. We request that the Inspector recommends the County Council is not granted a Transport & Works Act order for the guided bus. We request that responsibility for the Cambridge sub region transport be passed to Cambridgeshire Horizons. We request the next application take a longer term view to the current proposal. We also give details as how the guided bus, or train-trams, could reach the railway station directly from Chesterton Sidings.

Guided Bus Funding Under Threat? - press release dated 21 Nov 2004

At the Public Inquiry into the Guided Bus last week The camToo Project proposed a combined tram / guided bus system. ?We believe there is a real danger that the government might withdraw the funding already offered? stated Project Manager Richard Moseley, after he had presented to the Inquiry. ?Our concern is that the County are no longer offering a direct route to the railway station as proposed in the bid for funding that has been approved by the government?. ?According to the bid, road access into Cambridge is an interim measure and there will be a second phase which will see the guided buses running alongside the railway line all the way from Chesterton to the station?. ?However the County now say they can?t do that, which means commuters from Northstowe are going to have to use their cars rather than a ?High Quality Rapid Transit System? as promised by the County Council. Our suggestion is that the direct link be provided by wireless trams with guided buses sharing part of the same route, in particular the camToo route between Chesterton and Newmarket Road so that passengers can use ?same stop? interchange. This we believe can be done, and, by providing the second stage promised by the County, not only safeguards the funding already offered, but also provides the basis for a second bid for funding for which the County have already primed the government?. "A further benefit is that it might be possible to avoid increasing the number of buses using the City Centre as the guided buses would also be serving Cowley Road and Babraham Road Park & Rides" ?I was surprised our view was not challenged at the Inquiry and can only conclude our fears that the funding could be withdrawn are correct? finished Mr Moseley.

Rebuttal to County's Guided Bus Inquiry rebuttal

In their rebuttal to our proposal for a combined guided bus / wireless tram system to provide quality links from Northstowe to both the centre of Cambridge and Cambridge Railway Station, the County claimed to have looked at all rail alternatives and accused The camToo Project of not consulting HMRailway Inspectorate and Network Rail. All these claims are false, see our presentation to the Inquiry. The County, however, did not dispute our claim that a quality transport link is a precursor to starting the new town of Northstowe and that by stating this cannot be provided by the guided bus this puts the government's offer of funding in danger

A future for Cambridge's transport system?

Having criticised the guided bus design team for not looking beyond getting the buses running from Northstowe to Cambridge we realised that the current camToo proposal stops at Newmarket Road and does not provide a solution to the gap between Newmarket Road and the main railway station. The attached document, also submitted to the Guided Bus Public Inquiry puts forward a solution based on a combination of guided buses and wireless "Parry People Mover" trams.

Supplement to Public Inquiry Statement of Case

We have attended several days of the public inquiry into the guided bus. There is very little evidence of "future proofing", the scheme appears extremely short term. We believe this is due to the constraints imposed on the design team by the convoluted structure of local government around Cambridge. We believe these constrainst have been recognised by the formation of Cambridge Horizons. Supplements to our Statement have been submitted and are copied below; the maps however are not avalable electronically, help in scanning them would be appreciated.

Objection to Guided Bus Transport Works Act

We have submitted the camToo route between Milton Road and Newmarket Road as a superior alternative to Milton Road for the guided bus in terms of speed, reliability, sustainability, and safety. There is no need for the introduction of the guided bus service to be delayed, just no need for Milton Road to be descrated for the sake of a year whilst the camToo route is built. The creation of the Infrastructure Partnership Company chaired by Sir David Trippier means that for the first time there is a public organisation capable of delivering the entire project.

Transport Expert Required

We are looking for an expert prepared to help us with our presentation to the Public Enquiry into the Cambridge - St Ives guided bus. This starts on September 28th, see http://www2.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/db/pressrel.nsf/6fcbd4565a583c6480256b52004254fd/dee342c3384bd4dd80256edd00341f8d Anyone interested please contact us using the form on the website

Hands Off Milton Road

?DON?T touch Milton Road, - leave Milton Road ALONE, - with acknowledgements to Christopher Biggin?s Cambridge Pantomine catchphrase?.

Network Rail "agnostic" over The camToo Project

At a recent meeting with the Development Director they stated they considered The camToo Project's proposal to run guided buses alongside the railway line across the Cam flood plain both practical and feasible. This removes one of the concerns about the project and represents a greater degree of support that indicated in the first meeting with what was Railtrack in 2002. The meeting included discussions on the minutia of building a new bridge for the railway over the flood relief channel

CamToo transport link gets official recognition

Following a meeting brokered by South East Cambridgeshire MP James Paice, the County Councillor responsible for a guided bus system in Cambridge, Shona Johnstone, has agreed to look into the benefits offered by The camToo Project.

Local Rowers back camToo

This week (21st January 2004) the local rowing clubs through their association, the Cambridgeshire Rowing Association voted to pledge GBP2,500 towards the GBP50,000 cost of an engineering study of the project. "Our target is to put it before the Public Enquiry that is scheduled to take place on the proposal for a guided bus between Cambridge and St Ives this Summer" said project manager Richard Moseley. "We shall argue that the most practical, quickest, and most viable route for the guided bus to get between the Cambridge Science Park and the centre of Cambridge is via the camToo route rather than along currently tree lined Milton Road"

Guided bus decision brings camToo nearer

The announcement just before Christmas 2003 that the government are offering Cambridgeshire County Council ?65 million towards the cost of a guided bus system to run between Addenbrookes hospital and Huntingdon using the route of the redundant Cambridge - St Ives railway line has dramatically increased the chances of getting The camToo Project off the ground. Initially it is proposed that the guided buses will reach Cambridge City centre from a corner of the Cambridge Science Park by running down Milton Road, the road out of Cambridge that leads to Ely. However The camToo Project will provide a more reliable, quicker (by 2 minutes,) route that will also serve Newmarket Road and the Grafton Centre. We shall be proposing that a full cost benefits analysis will show that the ?15 million construction cost easily exceeds the threshold rate of return being used to justify ?10 milion for a tunnel under Hills Road near Cambridge station that will shave 1 minute off the journey between the station and Addenbrookes. It is envisaged that there will be a public enquiry into the guided bus scheme Summer 2004. Our target is to present to that enquiry a professionally prepared engineering feasibility study. For this we need GBP50,000 - can you help?

Local Radio supports camToo

During an interview today (October 22)on their breakfast programme BBC Cambridgeshire radio presenters Trevor Dann and Emma McLean both stated they thought The camToo Project an excellent and logical way to address some of Cambridge's traffic problems and wished the project well. The subject was the proposal to instal a new bus lane on Milton Road, a proposal opposed by the Cambridge Cycling Campaign since it will mean the removal of a dedicated cycle lane. The camToo Project will yake through buses completely off Milton Road, not only saving the threatened cycle lane but opening up the opportunity for the restoration of lanes all the way into Cambridge, an aim of the Cycling Campaign.

Proposed new bridge over the Cam

The picture shows the bridge proposed by Cambridge Futures, an academic led think tank, over the Cam immediately downstream of the existing Railway Bridge on the Long Reach.

CamToo completes first lap

The camToo Project has successfully completed the first lap of consultation with the final hurdle cleared being the Environment Agency. "We think the camToo route is the only way of providing a rapid transit link from the Science Park to the City Centre without increasing the risk of flooding in Cambridge" claims project manager Richard Moseley

CamToo will be quicker

The camToo route will be quicker than Milton Road according to the latest calculations carried out by the CamToo Team. Using the same figures for acceleartion and braking as used in the recent bid for governemnt funding for the Cambridge - St Ives guided bus the team have calculated buses using the camToo route will beat those using Milton Road to the Science Park by 90 seconds, even after stopping at the new Chesterton Parkway Station for 30 seconds. "That's the worst case scenario says project manager" Richard Moseley "we haven't claimed anything for the bus lanes along Newmarket Road which should enable the buses to average more than 12 mph along that stretch"

Wireless trams for Wireless City

The camToo Project announced today they are looking at the innovative Parry People Mover as a possible vehicle for the transport link between the City Centre and the Cambridge Science Park

There is another way

Opponents to the routes being proposed by the County Council for their guided bus link between Cambridge and St Ives are being urged to vote for camToo on the Council's consultation website as a way of avoiding wrecking Histon and Milton Roads in a letter sent to the Cambridge Evening News

camToo would have prevented the flooding

Press release issued following the flooding along Riverside in ealy October 2001 claiming that The camToo Project would have lowered the maximum height reached by the river by at least 18 inches and kept the houses on Riverside dry.

No need for bus lane

The following email was published in the Cambridge Evening News 31st December 2002 Plan for bus lane wrong From Richard Moseley I read the Milton Road bus lane story (News, December 19) with growing frustration at the inability of our planners to see the bigger picture. There is no need for an extra bus lane along a few yards of Milton Road. What is needed is support for the camToo project, which would enable buses from Cowley Road to go direct to the city centre by running alongside the railway line to Barnwell Bridge and then use the bus lanes along each side of Newmarket Road. Not only would this give a far quicker and more reliable service, it would also connect the science park with both the Newmarket Road retail park, Tesco and the Grafton Centre, thereby attracting even more users. Indeed all buses coming into Cambridge along the A10 (and going out the same way) could use the same route, saving them all time. Then you could add the Parkway Station on Chesterton Sidings, virtual elimination of flooding near the river, the ability to run more trains north of Cambridge either to Ely or perhaps along a revived St Ives railway line, and dedicated commuting cycleways from Milton and the Newmarket Road park and ride. Peacock Drive Bottisham

MP's support camToo, SRA calls for details

All three local Cambridge MP's, Anne Campbell (City - Labour), James Paice (East Cambs -Conservative), and Andrew Lansley (South Cambs - Conservative) have now "come out" in favour of a proper review of The camToo Project. The Strategic Rail Authority has also called for details of the project which could increase the capacity of the existing railway line north of Cambridge by 50%

New River will cost ?7.5 million

An engineering study by Jackson Civil Engineering and consultants MLM has concluded that the camToo proposal is feasible. The new river will cost ?7.5 million, the transport link from the Science Park to Newmarket Road / Grafton Centre or Railway Station, another ?7.5 million. Railtrack have also confirmed it is feasible

Room for rowers at a stroke

An article in the Cambridge Evening News July 27th 2001
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Rowers call for new river as recruits dry up

The smaller Cambridge rowing clubs may have to merge claimed Dr Pete Convey, Chairman of the Combined University Boat Clubs after training restrictions introduced to cut congestion on the Cam resulted in a 20% fall in novices rowing in their first term at Cambridge.

Radical bid to save rowing in Cambridge

30/12/2002 Radical bid to save rowing (Cambridge News) THE future of rowing in Cambridge is under threat unless an ambitious scheme to add a parallel channel to the River Cam is built, a senior rowing official has warned. This report is an interview with Dr Pete Convey, Chairman of the Combined University Boat Clubs in which he warns of smaller clubs having to merge following the 20% fall in novices racing in Clare Novice regatta November 2002.
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Scoping Study

We are now looking for ?10,000 to pay for a scoping study which we hope to be able to present to the planners this Summer.

County Council adopts the camToo proposal for a station on Chesterton Sidings

The County Council has recently announced it is going ahead with an ?18 million plan to extend Cowley Road to the rail line and build an "Interchange" station. In practice this will be a Parkway station surrounded by a large car park unless the whole camToo project is built - the new transport link would make the station a true interchange station on direct bus routes from the City Centre to the Science Park, Bar Hill, Cambourne and Waterbeach see map