Amanda Taylor

It’s the time of year for fêtes and garden parties, not to mention the Jubilee and Olympic events.

The south of Queen Edith’s starts things off. First is the Queen Edith’s Primary School Fête on 26th May, then there’s the big Jubilee parade along Wulfstan Way on Jubilee Tuesday, 5th June.

In June, the north is the busy part. There is a garden party at St John’s Church on the 23rd: as well as the excellent cakes and books and Traidcraft, there will be Olympics races and children should go dressed in Olympic style (modern not ancient as it could be chilly). In the last weekend of June, Saturday 30t, there’s a fête at Morley School, Blinco Grove.

Do pass on news of any more spring and summer events and we’ll add them to the list.

With the backing of colleagues at Cambridge University Press, my trade union UNITE and fellow Liberal Democrats, I am running a petition for lighting the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway and shall be presenting it to the Conservative Cabinet of Cambridgeshire County Council next Tuesday, 22nd May. At present we have 200+signatures, but people are still signing.

The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway was a long time a-coming and has been extremely controversial since its inception. But – love it or hate it – its less contentious collateral has been the cycleway running alongside it. This is well used and provides many cyclists and pedestrians with a safe route away from road traffic.

One flaw is that most of the track has no lighting. In just one week, I heard of at least three people who have had accidents. Other people feel generally unsafe in the dark, and many women have told me they feel uneasy using it late at night. It feels confined, as it’s fenced in, so if you had a collision or fall, or even – heaven forbid – a personal attack – it would not be easy to get off the track.

I appreciate lighting is expensive – and some people living near the Busway do not want bright lights. What I have in mind is some form of low-level lighting, possibly solar studs, which are less expensive. I understand there are funds available for this type of transport project.

Other ideas for making a good thing even better are to paint a line down the middle, to give some guidance as to where pedestrians should work and where cyclists should cycle. Signs would be useful too, so you know where to turn off.

As we have this fine resource ,we must have it safe, so that people don’t have accidents and are confident to use it.

The on line version of the petition has now closed. Let me know if you would like a paper copy. Please sign, and pass it on to other people you know who use the cycleway.

works on east road

Utility companies could be charged a daily fee for road closures while they carry out work across Cambridgeshire.

The idea has been put forward by Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Whitebread and would apply to companies laying new gas or water mains or carrying out similar work in the county.

Cllr Whitebread, who represents Cambridge’s Market Ward on Cambridgeshire County Council, claims the move could prevent lengthy closures such as the one which brought the city’s East Road to a virtual halt for weeks while new gas mains were laid.

She made her suggestion during Question Time at the county council meeting today (Tuesday, May 15) and it was agreed to look into such a scheme.

A similar idea, approved by the Department of Transport, will allow Transport for London to charge companies in the capital up to £2,500 a day for closing major roads. Companies will face lower charges if they carry out work outside of peak times.

“The county system at the moment has no incentive for speedy work, or to encourage work outside peak times” said Cllr Whitebread. “Given the frequency with which utilities companies need to carry out road works in Cambridge, I think a charging scheme of this type needs serious consideration.

“I also pushed the council to look at ways to encourage utility companies, when carrying out works, to keep roads open for cyclists. Often there is road space around the works that could be made available, but instead cyclists told to wait with cars or dismount and walk. In a city where so many people travel to school and work by bike, this clearly needs addressing.”

The county council’s Cabinet Member for Community Infrastructure, Tony Orgee, agreed to look into such a scheme.

The Friends of Rock Road Library arrange a programme of talks and events at the library. Recently, the topics have been Charles Dickens, World War II evacuees and Save the Children.

Next up is an illustrated talk on dragonflies on the 24th May. The speaker is Henry Curry from the Dragonfly Centre at Wicken Fen. This must be Dragonfly Heaven, as it’s home to 22 different species.

So come and find out more. The talk starts at 7.30 p.m. and doors open at 7.20 p.m. Don’t be late – some of the events are standing room only!

You are invited to attend this year’s Chance to Dance Festival.

Netherhall Sports Centre, Queen Edith’s Way, CAMBRIDGE, CB1 8NN
Sunday 20th May  10am-4pm (doors open at 9.45am)

Part of the Cultural Olympiad, Chance to Dance is an opportunity to experience a whole range of dance styles including salsa, street dance, greek, ballet, line, indian, tango, flamenco and more….

Performances from local dancers will be followed by a series of short taster workshops. All dance abilities and ages will be catered for – from pre-school age to adults and families.

You are welcome to attend at anytime of the day but if you wish to participate in any of the dance workshops, you will be required to register for the event. This can be done in advance online until Friday 18th May or at anytime on the day.
To register or for more details about the festival, please visit: www.cambridge.gov.uk/chancetodance

12/0406/FUL 10/05/2012   49 Hartington Grove CB1 7UA    Log Cabin at end of the Garden – 0.5M from the boundary at the back and the right. Building is 2.96M (W) x 4.34M (L) x 3.0M (H – at the ridge). Log Cabin is Finnforest Peili. Delegated Decision

12/0560/FUL 11/05/2012  22 Glebe Road   CB1 7SZ   Part two storey and single storey side and rear extension. Delegated Decision

12/168/TTPO 09/05/2012   32 Topcliffe Way  CB1 8SH   T4 – Weeping willow – reduce the long over-extended branches that grow out from the crown over the roof of the house by approximately 3m. Delegated Decision

12/171/TTCA 08/05/2012  Homerton College CB2 8PH  T1: Wingnut – Remove as wrong species planted for location. Delegated Decision