The council is proposing to add a protective fence along the section of the guided busway that runs between Cambridge station and Addenbrooke’s hospital.

Since February 2022, the guided busway has been partially closed in one direction, following the deaths of two people who were using the pedestrian and bike path next to the busway.

One of these deaths was when Stephen Moir was killed after being hit by a bus while cycling in September 2018. On the same section of the busway, three years later in October 2021, Kathleen Pitts was also killed after being struck by a bus.

Following Kathleen Pitts’ death in 2021, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it would be prosecuting Cambridgeshire County Council under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

As an interim measure, a temporary fence has been in place in order to alleviate safety concerns while a permanent solution was being discussed.

This new proposal would be a permanent fence which would separate the busway with the adjacent pedestrian and bike path. This change would allow the busway to be used in both directions again.

This solution could include removable sections in order to allow passengers on buses to evacuate safely.

Councillor Alex Beckett, who is chair of the highways and transport committee at Cambridgeshire County Council has said that “Last year, we took the extremely difficult decision to partially close the southern section of the guided busway while we waited for the independent safety review and following our ongoing communications with the HSE.”, adding that "It was always only a temporary measure and we have been working hard to restore the busway to full operational use ever since.”

Alex Beckett also said that "We have been looking at what other measures we could explore to try and reduce any risks further and working with our partners, we have designed an innovative solution which we anticipate will allow us to return the busway back to full use.”