Image credit: Camcycle
Cambridgeshire County Council has confirmed that it is not considering a 15mph cycling speed limit for any more routes across the UK city.
Currently, one 15mph speed limit exists for cyclists in Cambridge which applies to the shared path that runs alongside the city’s ‘guided busway’. The busway is a 16-mile route which connects Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives and sees buses run along a former railway track. The shared path runs in parallel to the busway for use by pedestrians, cyclists, micromobility users as well as horseriders in some areas.
Last October, the council imposed a 15mph speed limit for users of this path as a safety measure, following multiple high-profile accidents that have occurred on the busway itself. Motorcycles were also banned from the shared path, as were e-bikes that exceed the speed limit.
Following increased media attention into the 15mph cycling limit this week – with The Telegraph calling the speed limit “new” despite its implementation nearly a year ago – Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed to Zag Daily that this shared path is the only route to have a 15mph speed limit in Cambridge and no further 15mph speed limits are being considered.
“No new speed limits have been introduced for bike lanes in Cambridge. Nor are speed limits currently being considered for any bike lanes,” a Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson told Zag Daily.
A council spokesperson also confirmed that no 15mph speed limits were being considered for cyclists off of bike lanes, such as on other shared paths similar to the one besides the guided busway.
The 15mph limit: Part of a wider pack of safety measures for the busway
The existing speed limit on the Cambridgeshire route came as part of a wider package of safety measures around the guided busway.
Between 2015 and 2021, three people were struck by a bus and killed on the busway in separate incidents, resulting in a £6 million fine on the council.
Those tragedies led to the council imposing a series of safety measures. Last October, the council announced that the speed limit for buses would be lowered to 30mph along the busway and 20mph at crossing points. The council said this would be in place until permanent fencing and barriers were installed across the busway’s whole length – with completion expected by the end of this year – though the speed limit would be revised as each section of fencing is completed.
It was during this same package of measures that the council announced the 15mph speed limit of the shared path, with signage and road markings added around the time.
“The 15mph speed limit is mandatory for cyclists and other active travel users on all sections of the busway shared use path and is a permanent feature. The speed limit is an important control measure to enable safe active travel for all users of the shared use pathway,” a Cambridgeshire County council spokesperson said in an updated statement from last week.
“It also compliments the other Guided Busway Safety measures and is intended to reduce accidental conflict between users of the shared use track. The council continues to monitor the effectiveness of the speed limit and is liaising with Cambridgeshire Constabulary on enforcement action.”
Currently, the shared use track is not split into two, meaning pedestrians, cyclistics and other active travel users share one space.
Anna Williams, CEO of Cambridge Cycling Campaign, agrees that it was “essential” for the council to identify improvements on the busway.
“The busway path is one of the most popular active travel routes in Cambridgeshire with thousands of sustainable travellers – pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians and bus passengers – using it each day to get to work, school and other everyday destinations,” Williams said, adding that the majority of journeys take place “without incident, with users treating each other respectfully as they pass.”
However, Williams called the council’s “current focus on fencing and a reduced speed limit for cyclists” a “blunt” approach that “risks creating additional problems in many places”.
“If local authorities truly want to see growing levels of safe, convenient and attractive active travel journeys,” Williams added, “they must invest in widening the path at its narrowest points, separating people walking and cycling wherever possible; addressing the ongoing flooding problems between Swavesey and St Ives; and providing high-quality links to the path from surrounding villages.”
Williams said that the current speed measure also “fails to prepare” the route for growing demand as thousands of new homes and jobs are created across the region.
In the council’s latest statement on the matter, it calls on members of the public to report unsafe, anti-social and illegal behaviour on the busway to the county council or the police. The public can also submit safety concerns online or by scanning QR codes on signs along the busway path.
