Bike lanes make Cambridge UK’s slowest city for drivers

ITS university may boast some of the country’s quickest minds.

But thanks in part to a growing network of cycle lanes, Cambridge is the slowest city in the UK for motorists.

Traffic crawls at an average speed of just 13.73mph in the city, which has many narrow streets, one-way systems and pedestrianised areas.

According to figures released by vehicle tracking firm Satrak yesterday, Hereford was in second place, with traffic moving at an average speed of 14.09mph. Despite its reputation for awful queues and congestion, London is only third, with an average speed of 14.59mph.

Last night Robert Flello, a Labour Mp and member of the Commons Transport Select Committee, suggested investment in building cycle lanes both in London and Cambridge has contributed to increased congestion by reducing the amount of space on the roads.

Initiatives such as the redesign of the Hills Road dual carriageway in Cambridge has led to a surge in the number of cyclists, but the local authority has insisted it has also caused fewer people to drive into the city centre.

The select committee is investigating congestion and has suggested the country’s growing network of cycle lanes may be making traffic worse in towns and city centres.

Mr Flello said: ‘ Building more cycle lanes has led to a reduction in road space. You just need to look at London and Cambridge. It is absolutely crucial that cyclists have a safe place to cycle – but the unintended consequence of this has been slowing down traffic and creating more air pollution.’

He added: ‘ We also need to have decent public transport that doesn’t cost a fortune and doesn’t leave you standing around for hours on end in miserable weather. Failing this, we need to build more roads.’

Satrak analysed data from 527,000 vehicles over the course of last year. As well as tracking vehicle movements in cities, it also monitored motorways and found that the M25 is Britain’s slowest, with drivers averaging just 25.05mph.

Drivers on the M4, which connects London, Bristol and Cardiff, endure the second-slowest journeys, with average speeds of just 30.46mph.

Councils have been handed £1.2billion to improve roads and cut congestion.

The government is also investing £220million to tackle traffic ‘pinchpoints’ as part of a £15billion investment in improving major roads.

A separate study released last October claimed congestion in the capital has soared by 40 per cent over the last four years, with some buses in central London travelling at an average of 3.8mph – slower than a horse and cart.