Tree works in the west of the ward

There are a number of scheduled routine tree works coming up in the west of the ward (broadly speaking the area is northwest of Campkin Road, but also includes Arbury Court).

Details can be found on the tree part of the City Council website. People living nearby ought to have been written to, so that they can comment. Let us know if this hasn't happeed, and the details are linked from the schedules page.

The locations affected by removals are:

• Albemarle Way
• Augustus Close
• Buchan Street
• Callender Close
• Craister Court
• Legion Court
• Turpyn Court

The removed trees will be replaced. See the links above for more details.

The deadline for comments is quite soon (28th January), so if you have worries contact the officer by email or phone(01223 457138). In case of difficulties contact the team.

New Leaflet: City Faces School Places Crisis

In case you haven't seen it yet, or if you are interested in viewing the leaflet electronically, it is available from The Straight Choice website by clicking here.

It looks like the Straight Choice website has resolved it's technical/legal difficulties and is back in operation (this was related to usage of the Royal Mail Postcode database - getting this data put into the public domain actually now forms part of The Guardians' "Free Our Data" project).

We are always looking for more deliverers in Cambridge. If you are interested in delivering leaflets and becoming more involved in King's Hedges please get in touch.

Real Time Passenger Information

Recently I've been contacted by a local resident who had a very good question on the Real Time Bus Information signs like the ones pictured that have been cropping up across the city. The question was related to the information being displayed be the signs - particularly the sign pictured on the right which is the one at the Northern end of Northfield Avenue (Armitage Way).

I'm in the process of providing a written response to the resident but I thought the information I've been able to find out might be useful for other people as well.

Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) is a project begin run by the County Council (as opposed to Stagecoach) it's based around monitoring hardware being installed in Buses, training for drivers (so they can log into the system and configure their bus service), signs similar to the ones pictured setup across the City, and a wireless network to allow the signs to be updated as the buses progress around their route.

The basic premise is that the system allows the exact location of buses to be tracked minute by minute and that information communicated to specially-equipped bus stops along the route so that passengers know when to expect the bus.

Of course there will be times when the signal between the bus and bus stops doesn't get through - in this case the bus stop will display timetable information (rather than real-time). You can tell what sort of information you're getting by looking at the display; if the display is saying "Xmin" then you're getting real-time bus information. If, on the other hand, you're seeing a time (i.e 16:49, 16:55, etc in the picture) then what you're seeing is timetable information.

There are five reasons why a bus stop may not be displaying real-time information:

1. A non-fitted bus is used on an RT route;
2. The driver has not logged onto the system properly;
3. Due to adverse weather conditions, the displays or the buses may not be able to pick up or send radio signals;
4. The display may have not received a recent update;
5. The kit on the bus is malfunctioning.

Issue 1 shouldn't be a problem on either Citi 1 or Citi 4 routes; all buses are fitted with the necessary hardware. Occasionally other buses need to be used and these don't always have the hardware installed (for example Citi 2 and 3 routes are on the plan to be upgraded in 2010) but this is an exception.

Issue 2 is being addressed by Stagecoach through driver training. Issue 3 has no solution - well, none within the control of the County anyway! The County is actively addressing Issue 4 with more physical inspections and the use of automated monitoring software. Issue 5 is usually found and reported by the driver.

As I'm sure you can appreciate it's very difficult for people who are looking at Timetable rather than Real-time information to work out which issue is actually preventing the system from working. As a general rule though you can tell if it is an Operator error if there is some Real Time information being displayed. If everything is timetabled, then it is most likely a technical fault.

In the event of you seeing a faulty bus stop if possible you should report it to the County. You can do this online through the 'Have your say' section on the County Councils' website or you can call the Contact centre on 0345 045 5200 - this will direct you to the Passenger Transport or Traffic Management team who should both be able to help.

The good news, for people who plan their journey in advance, is that you don't need to be standing at a bus stop in order to access Real Time information. You can access a really-quite-impressive map by clicking here, the information on the County Council website is available here, and if you happen to want to view this on your mobile phone there is a special website here.

If you have any questions leave a comment or you can contact one of the team.

Julian Huppert selected to stand for Cambridge

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have selected Julian Huppert as their parliamentary candidate to fight the General Election.

Julian was selected from a shortlist of six candidates who fought for the position at Hustings at The Michaelhouse Centre in Trinity Street, Cambridge last night (Friday).

The ballot was called after MP David Howarth decided to stand down at the general election to return to his academic career at Clare College.

Julian said: “I am delighted and honoured to be given the chance to fight for this seat in the general election in my home town; it is a great privilege.”

Julian grew up in Cambridge and has represented the diverse interests of the city, including the universities, students, council estates and the knowledge economy as county councillor for East Chesterton between 2001 and 2009 and as Lib Dem group leader. He is a member of Liberty's national council.

Julian works as a scientist at the Cavendish Laboratory and believes that his scientific background is one of his great strengths in fighting for the Cambridge seat in Parliament.

“So many decisions from climate change to health care require detailed understanding of what is actually happening,” he told members. “We must try to change the way policies are made in this county so that they are made for clear reasons and not just as knee jerk reactions to media scare stories.”

Speaking on climate change he said he was proud to be “green” and that all Lib Dem policies from transport to housing were environmentally sustainable.

“I will continue to fight for our liberal, progressive, green and international values,” he said.

David Howarth said: “I am delighted that Julian has been chosen as the candidate for the general election. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the position and I am confident the future is in good hands.”

Your local team were all at the hustings, and were impressed by the quality of all six possible candidates.

I am confident that Julian will be able to stand up for Cambridge's values and interests in parliament if elected. He is an outstanding candidate.

King's Hedges primary planning application

Another planning application with a connection to a local Councillor! This time it's me who is connected as a governor of King's Hedges Primary school on Northfield Avenue.

As part of a very exciting project to support the learning of speech and language they have put in a planning application for the "Erection of language centre with decking area and ramp". The application number is 09/1131/FUL.

As always more details on the proposal can be obtained from Development Control at the City Council. The plans can be seen at City Homes offices on Arbury Road, or other places. See the how to look in person section of the City Council site for more details.

Phone out again...

The snow has melted, making the ground wet so my phone has stopped working.

I cans still be contacted by email or post (19 Kirkby Close, CB4 1XP).

If it is urgent call Neil or Andy (see left) and they should be able to help. Sorry!

County Council Guidelines on Clearing Snow

To coincide with the disappearance of the snow and ice (at least in Cambridge) the County Council has published some advice on clearing it.

The advice boils down to five "hints";

• take appropriate steps to ensure your own health and safety
• try to avoid piling snow and so as to block or obstruct the footway or road in any way
• use grit form highway grit bins wherever possible
• avoid using water as it may form ice and make the situation more hazardous
• take care to ensure all hand tools are removed from the highway

It's a great shame (but not entirely unexpected) that the County Council, while applauding the efforts of individuals across the County to make their communities safer, feels it is unable to offer something more constructive or definitive in the way of advice due to the legal liabilities it would open the County up to.

Gritting - Update from the County Council

Last night the gritters were out across the County (seen pictured here on Arbury Road) gritting the major routes.

Due to the shortage of supplies, Cambridgeshire County Council now only has 5 days worth of salt left (on the basis of not doing any secondary work), and due to the worsening salt situation in the North of England and Scotland there is every possibility that new salt will need to be directed to those regions first.

On Monday there will be a review of the precautionary gritting regime to ensure that the most essential roads continue to be gritted - new salt deliveries are still expected, but could still be redirected Nationally.

As we saw last year and after the brief freeze in December cold weather damages the surface of roads and creates new potholes as well as making existing ones worse. If you are aware of any problems in your area (or on your daily commute) please notify the County Council via the website or via the contact centre on 0345 045 5212 (contact centre is open 8.00 am-8.00 pm, Monday to Saturday). Cllr Mac McGuire (the Cabinet Member Responsible) has given an assurance that they will be repaired as soon as resources and weather conditions allow.

ID Cards launch in Cambridge tomorrow!

I've just heard that the immigration minister, Phil Woolas, is arriving tomorrow (Wednesday 6th Jan) to launch the ID card for foreigners through the city’s St Andrew’s Street Post Office. The move means Cambridge will become a testing ground for the scheme, focusing on the immigration issue, and the first step towards rolling it out nationally.

NO2ID is joining forces with some of the Cambridge City Councillors to stage a protest with banners outside the St. Andrew’s Street Post Office between 8am and 9am tomorrow morning. I'll be there, why not come along?