The stretch below Lambs Lane and the Cottenham Club is wide down as far as Denmark Street. There’s plenty of parking and what’s left of Cottenham’s shops is in this stretch. It’s below Denmark street where it goes sour: firstly with narrow pavements and houses fronting directly onto the street and then the co-op corner.
The narrow pavements themselves are bad enough as residents open their front doors to be confronted by HCVs rumbling by just a couple of feet from their living rooms. It gets worse though when motorists and HCV drivers think it’s OK to park on the pavement blocking access to these houses!
The co-op corner is a problem for several reasons. The big one though is the problem caused by deliveries to the co-op which often involve large HCVs parking in the road and across the front of people’s front doors and driveways. And they often do this for substantial periods and with their engines and refrigeration units running. It’s not just inconsiderate to local residents it also is dangerous and one day there’s going to be a serious accident on the corner.
Another problem is the corner itself and the speed at which some motorists take it, often swinging out as they take the bend too fast. It’s another accident waiting to happen.
And the 3rd problem is illegal parking. Shoppers stop on the double yellow lines on the bend outside the store and think that because they’re only popping in for a couple of minutes it’s OK. It’s not. Another source of an accident waiting to happen.
Don’t forget that Cottenham, and the shops and houses in question, are only there because the road was there – and the road was there first! If you remove or restrict the road or build a by-pass you will lose the shops and nobody will want to live in the houses.
If people are speeding or double-parking they are breaking the law – get the local police to target them as a priority rather than trying to make changes that will affect all legitimate residents and road users detrimentally as well.