Initial engagement period on ideas to improve Cambridge's streets and open spaces extended until 3 August

‘Making Space for People’ – a project to make Cambridge easier and more pleasant for people to get around – has extended its first stage of engagement until 3 August to allow more people to comment.

Residents, visitors and people who work in Cambridge now have an additional period to register their comments and ideas for potential improvements to walkways, cycleways, roads and open spaces, in order to ensure people are put at the heart of city life.

So far the project has had a good response, with more than 800 comments and more than 300 completed surveys. The first stage of engagement was scheduled to close on 16 July, but has now been extended due to requests from some local stakeholder groups.

People can now continue to make comments online via http://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/making-space-for-people until 5pm on Friday 3 August, before having further opportunities to comment on the emerging vision at a later date.

The project’s engagement website, ConsultCambs, gives people the opportunity to view a map and comment in detail about specific locations that they feel could be improved, and how, including suggestions for how parts of Cambridge could be used differently.

‘Making Space for People’ is being developed by Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, and is funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP).

The project will lead to the creation of a new Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to help guide improvements to the city, which will put people first when identifying future opportunities to improve public spaces and movement flows into and around the city.

All of the ideas and comments the council receives from these initial exercises will help shape the council’s strategy, and will feed into a draft document to be discussed by councillors, before a full public consultation on the proposed Making Space for People SPD, which is due to take place in early 2019.

A range of organisations with an interest in Cambridge’s future are also being invited to attend meetings and workshops to give their ideas for the future and discuss some of the challenges and opportunities for improving the city.

The project is funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and is part of the City Access scheme to improve travel within Cambridge by public transport, cycling and walking, along with tackling congestion and improving air quality and the public realm.

Cllr Kevin Blencowe, Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Transport, said: “We have been very pleased with the response so far, but are aware that not everyone wishing to contribute ideas has been able to do so. That is why we are extending this initial engagement period until 3 August, while reminding people that they will still have further chances to contribute to the project in the weeks and months ahead.”

Peter Blake, Transport Director at Greater Cambridge Partnership said: “ConsultCambs is a new digital tool that enables people to comment on infrastructure projects quickly and easily, from the comfort of their own home.

“Making Space for People is one of our first projects to use the tool, so please let us know of any comments or suggestions on how to improve it for its future use.”