As many of you know, Cambridge City Council has launched a lighting trial on Parker’s Piece, in a bid to improve safety for people crossing the open space after dark. The consultation period is ending soon!

The move comes in response to incidents in Parker’s Piece, especially during hours of darkness, and follows discussions with the police about how to improve people’s safety when using the footpaths after dark.

The trial aims to explore both effectiveness and appearance and see what issues arise with this kind of scheme. After the trial, the equipment will be used elsewhere in the city.

You can give your feedback on the idea by completing the short questionnaire on the Council’s website. The consultation ends on 4 March.

The Council will assess the results of the trial before deciding whether to progress the scheme further.

Perhaps you would have liked to grit a few areas near where you live? If so, take advantage of the City Council gritting scheme, which gives out bags of grit to residents’ associations who request it.

Would you like to take part in this scheme? If so, please register now by emailing streetscene@cambridge.gov.uk, before the next snow arrives. There is no capacity to respond once snow has fallen because of the council’s own gritting work. Residents will then need to plan to spread the grit, possibly for several days, as needed.

Have you ever had such a thought? So did City Council! It has now launched a new website which we hope will be more user friendly.

Any comments on the new site? Let us know by contacting:

Brigitte Wilson
Web Project Manager
Cambridge City Council – Corporate Marketing and Communications
Brigitte.Wilson@cambridge.gov.uk

We are really sorry to report that the new lights on Parker’s Piece were vandalised sometime late last night or early this morning. The lights are part of a trial currently under consultation.

Councillor Tim Bick said he was very disappointed. “This is a another learning from the trial – that there are unfortunately a few very destructive individuals about. It’s contrasted against the fact that by now over 500 people have responded to our consultation which we’re very pleased about. The damage has been reported to the police and we aim to get the lights back in action for the remainder of the 4 week trial period, after which they will be re-used elsewhere.”

The City Council plans to have 3 of the 4 lights repaired tomorrow.