Cambridge railway station’s Cycle Point bicycle parking facility is to benefit from £530,000 of improvements, including better CCTV, secure access compounds, and more accessible areas.

The award is part of a £3 million package of funding from Active Travel England, the government’s new cycling and walking executive agency, which aims to improve cycling infrastructure around railway stations across the country.

The improvements are part of a partnership project between Sustrans, Brookgate, Cambridge City Council, and the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) to improve security, signage and accessibility at the facility.

Greater Anglia will now start work on a programme of improvements developed in consultation with the Cambridge Cycle Point task group, which is a sub-group of the Cambridge Cycle Crime Prevention Group, – to improve customer experience and satisfaction including security and convenience, with the Cycle Point facility.
The improvements will include:

• upgrade the CCTV upgrade to link it into Greater Anglia’s new system that records much higher definition images, is more reliable, and allows for remote viewing.
  In phase two of the upgrade, the cameras will be linked to the Cambridge City public camera network, which Cambridgeshire Constabulary and other police networks can monitor;
• modify the Cycle Point’s current 24-hour open access arrangement to help reduce cycle theft. Greater Anglia will consult with Cycle Point users to examine whether access controls should be installed;
• install a speaker system to provide security announcements and warnings to potential thieves or vandals;
• improve signage to help customers find the secure cycle parking, and to find their way around it and how to use it;
• improve accessibility for those using cargo bikes, tricycles or adapted bikes, as well as those with disabilities, carrying small children in bike seats or who do not have the strength to push bikes up a slope or cannot use the ramps;
• increase the number of accessible spaces on the ground floor and ensure adequate directional signage to this area.

Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia director of asset management, said: “We’re delighted to have received this funding to improve security and accessibility at Cycle Point.

“We take our customers’ security very seriously and have worked closely with our partners to identify the necessary enhancements which will help to increase customer and stakeholder confidence in the facility.”

Cllr Elisa Meschini, Chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Executive Board, said: “These upgrades will not only help to provide greater security at Cycle Point, but they will help to encourage more people to travel more sustainably by bike and public transport to help improve congestion on our roads and the quality of the air we breathe.”

Cllr Katie Thornburrow, Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Transport, Cambridge City Council, said, “This is excellent news for everyone using the rail station and will do a lot to encourage cycling in Cambridge, which is a priority for the City Council. There has already been significant work to make cycling a first choice for active travel at the station and elsewhere in the City, and this additional government funding will make a big difference. We look forward to working with Greater Anglia and other partners to deliver more secure and accessible cycle parking, making the best possible use of this very welcome investment.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Darryl Preston added: “This is welcome news for people living and working in Cambridge. I set out my commitment to listening and acting on the concerns of local people in my Police and Crime Plan and one of the issues regularly highlighted was cycle crime. Today’s announcement is the result of some excellent partnership work and the dedicated resources this funding will bring should help reassure local people that their concerns about security are being addressed.”

Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said: “This is very good news. Investing in safer cycling routes and more secure bike parking is an important way to help people feel confident about pedalling to public transport hubs, where they can jump on a train or a bus, instead of using the car.

“Cambridge has always been celebrated as a cycling city and we need to make it easier for more people to leave the car behind. We must invest more in active travel, whether cycling or walking, and link it into good public transport.

“It’s better in every way – for health, for air quality and for pushing back against climate change.”