With the biggest annual sporting event in the world set to come to Cambridgeshire on Monday 7 July, the first road closure information for the Tour de France has been released.
With such a large scale event - residents, businesses and visitors are being given advanced notification to help get ready, plan and enjoy a unique day in Cambridge’s history.
The roads on and connected to the route in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire and when they will close are revealed below:
- In order to allow for the set up of the start by Parkers Piece, Gonville Place and Parkside will close on Sunday 6 July from 5.30pm.
- At 4am on Monday 7 July, the following roads on the route will be closed: Regent Street, St Andrew’s Street, Sidney Street, Bridge Street, King’s Parade and Trumpington Street.
- Also at 4am, roads which link directly to the route will close. These are: Park Terrace, Parker Street, Emmanuel Road, Victoria Avenue, Jesus Lane, Drummer Street, Emmanuel Street and Lensfield Road.
- Then at 7am, Trumpington Road and the A1301 will be closed.
These road closures will remain in place until 3pm when a phased reopening will begin, with the last roads in the heart of Cambridge expected to open by 6pm.
With the roads closed, teams will get to work on preparing the route. This includes putting in place all the necessary infrastructure and then removing it afterwards, to allowing the Tour’s publicity ‘caravan’ of vehicles to begin its journey and providing for the safe movement of spectators.
Further work is now being carried out by Cambridgeshire County and City Councils and the Tour organisers to develop the plans for the roads which access the route and how they will be affected on the day. An announcement on this work is expected later this spring.
Cambridgeshire County Councillor Mac McGuire, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure, said: “It has been said many times but hosting Stage 3 of this year’s Tour de France is going to be a day like no other for Cambridge and the county. It will be a unique opportunity to see some of the world’s best cyclists parade then race through our region. With such a huge sporting event coming to Cambridgeshire, there will clearly be significant impact to our road network on the day. This is why we are now telling people about this now so residents, businesses and visitors can get ready, plan and enjoy the day.
“Many have already started to make arrangements for Monday 7 July and we have been working with our partners to ensure they are aware of the impact of the race. Over the next month, we will be working hard with organisations such as bus operators, train companies and others to ensure people can make the most of this historic day. As we finalise these plans later this spring we will ensure information such as revised bus timetables and stops as well as wider information on the impact on access roads are published along with all the other special arrangements for the day. There is still a lot of work to do but we are all dedicated to delivering the best start of the Tour de France we can.”
The route will need to be clear of all public vehicles prior to the road closure time, with pedestrian access available while the roads are closed through stewarded crossing points. There will also be parking restrictions in place on the route and on some access roads.
The Grand Départ will race from Leeds to Harrogate on July 5, York to Sheffield on July 6, and a third stage will travel from Cambridge to London on July 7.
Exact details of the route can be found at online at www.letour.yorkshire.com
In the build up to the arrival of the Tour, detailed information will be given to residents, businesses and visitors regarding the impact of the race on Cambridge and the county. This will be made available online at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/letourstage3 and www.cambridge.gov.uk/le-tour-cambridge as well as through leaflets, roadshows and events.
Information will also be made available via Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeTourCambridge or Twitter: www.twitter.com/LeTourCambridge.
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