‘It’s Your A141’ – Have your say on the A141


The keenly-anticipated options for improving the A141 around Huntingdon were today made public by Mayor James Palmer on a new microsite set up to ask people’s preference.

Mayor Palmer is asking anyone with an interest in the A141 – road users, local residents, nearby businesses, and community organisations to view the range of options under consideration and say which solution they want the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and its partners to carry forward.

The Combined Authority launched its A141 – Have Your Say! microsite today at www.youra141.co.uk

It includes six options for consideration by the public, ranging from a full bypass of northern Huntingdon to improvements based around rural hubs and active travel.

The Mayor, who leads the Combined Authority, is sharing the longlist of potential options to generate comment on the pros and cons from as many people as possible who live near the A141 or use it.

James Palmer, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough:

“No decision has been made on which potential option to take forward to the next stage. If you use this road, or live near it, it’s your A141 more than anyone else’s, and I urge you to take this chance to tell us what you want done, how you want us to improve it.

“Your local knowledge and insights will be priceless in guiding us towards the best solution.

“Doing nothing is not an option.  Improvements must be made to the A141 but how and where is yet to be decided. We won’t take any decision until we’ve had solid input from locals – but continuing growth and the prosperity it brings depends on this road being made to function better for everyone. The more that people with on-the-ground knowledge contribute, the better informed our final decision will be”, said Mayor Palmer.

The A141 is a key road in and out for Huntingdon commuters. It is prone to traffic jams and encourages dangerous and polluting rat-runs through villages, and rush-hour tailbacks in its feeder routes. The A141 is also the major road serving fenland and carries a rising volume of slow agricultural vehicles and heavy through-traffic of container lorries crossing the region.

To help people stay in touch with developments around the A141 improvement scheme, the Combined Authority has also set up a Facebook hub, the @A141 Community, where people united by an interest in the road and its future can follow plans and decisions, and swap news and views about the A141 throughout the whole life of the improvement project.

Visit www.youra141.co.uk to see the options and make your comment

The Options

Option 1 Full Offline Bypass with no connections

  • A new bypass from Spittals Interchange to Sawtry Way roundabout (B1090/A141), with no connections to existing roads or the new developments.

Option 2 Full Offline Bypass with connections

  • A new bypass from Spittals Interchange to Sawtry Way roundabout (B1090/A141).  Three junctions with the existing road network (Ermine St, Abbotts Ripton Road and Kings Ripton Road).

Option 3 Online / Offline Option

  • A new bypass from Spittals Interchange to the Tesco Roundabout.
  • Widening of the existing A141 from the Tesco Roundabout to the Hartford Roundabout.

Option 4 Rural Travel Hubs

  • Implementation would likely require combining with bus priority infrastructure towards Huntingdon

Option 5 Public Transport and Active Travel

  •  Upgrading / extending the existing Old Houghton Road bridle path.
  •  Dedicated walking and cycling infrastructure from the Ermine Street
  •  Business Park to the A1123/A141 junction along the current A141 and from the Ermine Street Business Park to St. Peters Road.
  •  Additional walking and cycling crossing points over the East Coast Main Line.
  •  Public Transport infrastructure along St. Peters Road and opening access at the old Sapley Road crossroads for public transport.
  • Public transport and active travel connections between new developments and Huntingdon town centre.

Option 6 Transport Network Management

  • Potential areas to implement measures to discourage car travel.

Measures could include:

˃ a Clean Air Zone (CAZ)*

˃ environmental weight limits**

˃ Workplace Parking Levies***

˃ increasing parking charges; or

˃ reducing parking availability.

These measures would need to be combined with other positive measures to provide travel alternatives.