How long would this drive take to commute for working hours 9-5.30

[Avocadosmoothie]

Hi everyone, I want to figure out how long my commute would be if I drove from Haddenham to Astrazeneca (near Addenbrookes) for office hours 9-5.30? I would have onsite parking. When I plug it in google it says 35 mins without traffic and 1hr at 8am/5.30pm. Does 1hr seem accurate or do you think it would take longer? Thanks!

We used to live in Haddenham. We live near Addenbrookes now. It is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question because the route you have shown takes you onto the A14/M11. If you are doing that I'd go down Twentypence Lane, through Cottenham and Oakington and join the A14 there rather than at Milton how that suggests or Histon.

I think if you are leaving at 8am it may take longer than an hour more like an hour and a quarter. I think you'd be safest to leave home at 7.30.

An alternative route is to go down the A10/cut through WAterbeach/Horningsea and Fen Ditton but the queues in from fen Ditton can be bad too. I suspect it would take the same amount of time.

Going home at 5.30 up the M11 and off just after the cemetery would be quicker than coming in.

On your original thread, several commentators advised you to look south of Cambridge and to look at alternatives to driving.

If you are not yet committed to a location, a route or a mode of transport, presumably the AZ relocation support team can give you detailed information on how to avoid arriving at the Biomedical Campus by car. In fact, that's exactly what they are supposed to be doing to deliver on the Travel Plan written in support their planning application, to persuade the authorities that the AZ site was somehow not going to make congestion in the south of the city even worse.

Oh, and bear in mind that AZ, Papworth and Abcam will all be opening here within the next 18 months, so however long Google says it will take now, you can add a good 30 minutes to it to allow for all the new arrivals.

Sorry if that sounds unsympathetic or unwelcoming, but surely better to know the reality of the situation upfront?

Allthebest - thanks, that's so useful! Could I ask what you thought to haddenham and why you left? Where abouts are you now? Thanks!!

I think your best bet would be train from Ely and then cycle from the station otherwise you are looking at an hour and a half on a good day .
If you are working AZ longterm then South of city is preferable -cycle route goes past it and save timeplus £££ on.petrol.
If you are the poster Im thinking of Haddenham isnt great for public transport for teens -driving to Ely to get anywhere

Ooops sorry you dont have teens
Forgot to add I cant see any carparking being built at AZ and the streets are a no parking zone all around

Given the impact of the A14 roadworks for the next three years, I'm very much with those advising you to look south of the city. The A14/M11 area is horrific at the moment and to be avoided if you possibly can.

No prizes for guessing my route to work

Go down sarff villages !, mind you Addenbrookes is to get a train station of its own sometime!

That said the area around Addys is horrendous for rush hour traffic and as the site is now the size of a small Town let alone a bit of a village, its not likely to get any better anytime soon!.

Getting onto the a10 is madness at rush hour. We used to drive from Cottenham through Histon and it was horrible. I would absolutely allow an hour at 8am to get in.

Ely is a really nice small town with an increasingly good selection of shops. Very pretty around the old centre. Loads of new build houses too so reasonable choice, especially with your budget.
But the Best thing about Ely is the train service to Cambridge. Pretty crowded at peak times but infinitely quicker than attempting to drive from anywhere north of Cambridge to Addenbrookes.
From Cambridge railway station it's a fairly short bus or cycle ride over to Addenbrookes. Or indeed it's walkable if your DH has enough time.

I think it's hard for people who haven't experienced the horror of the A14 around Cambridge to really grasp how bad it can be on a very regular basis.

I'm surprised you're going to have onsite parking. DH will be transferring there when it's finished, and as far as he's been told, there really won't be any significant parking.

I'd also echo what other posters have been telling you. The M11 is horrendous. Look further south.

If this isn't something you absolutely have to do for some reason, I'd strongly suggest trying almost anything to avoid it. Maybe subscribe to some local news feeds to get a sense of how often these roads end up at a standstill because of the knock on effects of accidents. They aren't currently big enough for the weight of the traffic.

(And in case anyone's wondering, when I say they are not currently big enough I'm not suggesting mass road building! Cambridge is desperate for better sustainable transport options).

I really wouldn't live in Haddenham if you're going to be working at AZ. Either live near Ely station, then train plus bike to Addenbrookes site, or live South of the city. The traffic is a nightmare and won't get any better.

Years ago I worked at Addenbrookes and from where I live west of Cambridge, only 8 miles from Addenbrokes, it took me almost an hour so god knows what it's like now. I know people who work at Addenbrookes who allow more than an hour from where we are, and Haddenham would be a lot worse.

Papworth hospital is also moving onto the site next year, which means parking will be a nightmare. I thought AZ didn't have dedicated parking and that their workers had to park in the (full every morning) multi-story? In which case living somewhere where you could cycle in, eg Sawston, would be a huge bonus.

Echo what others have said - don’t plan on driving to AZ at Addenbrookes!

With the greatest respect, if you are committed to moving here, you’re going to need to change your mindset about relying on cars to get around. I don’t think you quite understand how different it is here compared to the rest of the country.

If 1,000+ people relying on cars as you clearly do arrive in the next 18 months, you will be looking at a 4 hour daily commute!

Also the multi story car park is not just full, it’s really expensive. As others have said, look at places you can cycle/ train / get guided bus to.

I thought that staff NOT driving to the site was a condition of all the new building on the biomedical campus? The multi-storey car parks are for patients and visitors?

cambridge-biomedical.com/getting-here/

I thought that staff NOT driving to the site was a condition of all the new building on the biomedical campus? The multi-storey car parks are for patients and visitors?

There are staff car parks but there round the northern side of the estate as it were. What you are referring to is that the Addenbrookes access road off the M11 is not intended as a bypass road.

Which IMHO it should have been!

Ah OK -thanks! I'm well aware of the road restrictions. I genuinely thought that all the firms moving in had to show that there'd be no increase in tea6ffic and had to make other transport plans for their staff. J11 is bad enough already!

I think you are right Bring they are trying to restrict car use by not building their own carparking.
The M11 access road is restricted to those coming to the hospital and often its nose to tail right back over the bridge in the evenings.
Parking in carpark 1 and 2 (patient and visitor) may well be available but its extortionate for the whole day.

Sorry not clear !
What I was trying to say was
The Addenbrookes road restrictions and the AZ traffic reduction deal are 2 separate issues.

I’ve just noticed the OP said they have on site parking at AZ

Oh maybe they do? although generally the story here is that the bid involved a" green deal" which involved AZ providing assurances that sustainable transport options would be part of the bid.
Why they havent built a station yet is baffling
Well if 1000 more cars arrive it will be gridlocked and so travelling from the other side still not a great plan

First, I totally agree with all the other posts, commuting within a 25 radius of Cambridge Monday to Friday can be time consuming and hellish. May I suggest that before buying anywhere take the time to do the commute on a normal private and state school term day. Then consider what it will be like when AZ have 2000+ staff, Abcam have 450 staff, Royal Papworth is operating 24/7 for staff and patients, in addition these 3 organisations will all require deliveries etc to support their work.

These thoughts only relate to the Bio-medical Park there is intense house building and business development throughout the area.

Before you accept this move to Cambridge may I suggest you VERY CAREFULLY evaluate your work/life balance!!