The St Ives streets used as ‘rat runs’ where lorries ‘thunder through’ to avoid busy route

‘it’s very, very, noisy and it’s lined with homes’

Lorries are “thundering” through residential streets to avoid using a busy route, it has been claimed. The comments come after plans to improve the A141 and roads in St Ives were launched over concerns around congestion.

An update on the progress of the outline business case was presented to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s transport committee on Wednesday, September 8. It suggested creating a dual-carriageway bypass from Spittalls Interchange to a new roundabout on the B1090.

The B1090 would also be dualled up to the A141 roundabout and an extra lane added to Harrison Way between the A1123 and the busway. Two new “offline routes” for pedestrians and cyclists were also suggested to link Huntingdon and St Ives and four routes to expand the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. It also suggested two new park and ride sites at Huntingdon Racecourse and Wyton Airfield.

Cllr Julie Kerr, of Huntingdonshire District Council, said she was “really pleased” to see the plans were moving forward and said lorries ‘thunder through’ and use the road as a ‘rat run’;/

The independent councillor said: “That makes a massive difference in St Ives – that’s why it’s become a rat run.” She said traffic from the A141 is coming through the town to get to the A14 towards Cambridge as the route around Huntingdon is a “long-way round” – including heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

She said: “I have followed HGVs from Huntingdon right up to the A14 and they are definitely using it as a rat run. We’ve seen massive numbers of HGVs on Houghton Road, which is a residential road.

“They thunder through and it’s very, very, noisy and it’s lined with homes and that road’s looking to be resurfaced because it’s so bad. Those HGVs should not be on that road and that’s why we’ve asked you to look at the routing of HGVs – that’s one area of it, but it’s really crucial.”

Cllr Kerr suggested that the active travel routes be paired with road routes instead of the chosen paths to the north and south of the A1123 as they are likely to flood. She said: “The routes you’re looking at flood so badly, it will cost a fortune and I don’t understand why you’re considering it.

“I wish you would engage with local knowledge before you come up with ideas like this. I would absolutely encourage you to look at ongoing current road routes to do the active travel on.”

The committee noted the report with the outline business case expected to be completed soon.