Dry Drayton Blog

We were saddened to see from the Cambridge News on Tuesday that the incident on this road on Sunday was in fact a fatal accident and that some of the people involved were from dry Drayton. A witness from Madingley told the Cambridge News “The road is particularly dangerous and they’ve done some surfacing work there recently to improve it”. How, we wonder, does this stack up with our local Councillor’s statement in the most recent Village Newsletter that: “The cycle route from Bar Hill and Dry Drayton to Madingley Road Park & Ride is great and we hope cyclists take full advantage of the route and enjoy the great outdoors while encouraging people to do their bit for the environment.”

Anyone who uses this road will agree with the Madingley resident that this is indeed a dangerous stretch. Although the victim of the fatal accident last weekend was not a cyclist, anyone who has cycled the road knows that cars swoop past just inches away and at ridiculous speeds. The edge of the tarmac falls away sharply in places, making any mistake difficult to correct. As if this isn’t enough, during term time, some motorists heading for Cambridge in the morning thrash through Madingley to try to re-join the traffic jam on the Madingley Hill a few cars ahead.

Isn’t it time Cambridgeshire County Council tried out some traffic calming here, and perhaps introduced the kind of “quiet lane” policy introduced by the Countryside Agency and practiced in Norfolk and Kent - where vehicles have to travel slower and give way on designated quiet rural roads to cyclists and walkers? This should also be applied to the Dry Drayton to Madingley Road - then this could become a great route for cyclists.