Council budget cuts holding up traffic and speeding improvements says East Cambs councillor

IMPROVEMENTS to traffic and speeding in an East Cambs village are being held up by county council budget cuts, according to a councillor.

District and parish councillor Gareth Wilson said progress had been made on reducing speeds on Station Road and on the volume of lorries through the village but more work was needed.

Cllr Wilson said: “Major changes to traffic calming on Station Road have proved impossible, as the county highways department would not put any of the major highways budget into these suggestions. In fact they have vigorously resisted such measures, because Station Road is an A road.

“We have asked for traffic lights or crossings but these were too expensive for the minor highways bids and were not supported by the county council.”

Cllr Wilson said the village was also facing continued problems with noise and pollution caused by large volumes of heavy good vehicles ‘rat running’. He said that contact had been made with hauliers to get them to agree to use the A142 and A10.

A county council spokesman said: “We have been working with the community for some years to try to find a solution to the traffic issues in Haddenham and we will continue to do so to see what further measures could be put in place within the resources available or that could be funded locally.

“Particular problems include two A-roads which converge in the village and limited footways in some areas and the fact that the alternative route for heavy vehicles is already congested and has a worse accident record.

“Downgrading the roads in Haddenham or introducing a weight limit may simply move the problems elsewhere and we need to look at the road and traffic situation across the broader area to ensure we don’t solve the problem in one village by creating similar issues in another community.”