At the Council meeting held on 23 November 2017 the following petition was submitted:
“Wokingham is being strangled by traffic. Two main roads (A329 and A321) meet in the centre. But so far the only effort that has been made to relieve this and make the centre an attractive place to meet, walk and shop is to put all the through traffic onto existing small streets and roads (Wellington, Rectory, Langborough, Murdoch …) near the centre. These roads were never built to take through traffic, and the narrow streets in the centre (Peach, Denmark…) are certainly not up to the job. We need a plan to take this traffic out of the centre, give us back our market town, and make living, shopping and socialising here a pleasure again. Less noise, less pollution, less danger, less frustration. We have the power to make the change.”
Minutes:
The Mayor announced that a petition had been received on 23 November 2017 in relation to traffic within Wokingham town centre and that he had agreed that this be debated at the Council meeting.
Clive Chafer, the petition organiser, presented the petition the wording of which was:
“Wokingham is being strangled by traffic. Two main roads (A329 and A321) meet in the centre. But so far the only effort that has been made to relieve this and make the centre an attractive place to meet, walk and shop is to put all the through traffic onto existing small streets and roads (Wellington, Rectory, Langborough, Murdoch …) near the centre. These roads were never built to take through traffic, and the narrow streets in the centre (Peach, Denmark…) are certainly not up to the job. We need a plan to take this traffic out of the centre, give us back our market town, and make living, shopping and socialising here a pleasure again. Less noise, less pollution, less danger, less frustration. We have the power to make the change.”
Clive Chafer addressed the meeting and set out the background to the petition. He commented that he had started the petition in response to a discussion which had been begun on the Community Neighbourhood bulletin board. A large number of residents had expressed extreme frustration with difficulties they were experiencing getting to and though Wokingham. He highlighted Finchampstead Road as an area of particular difficulty. He commented that the road had over 2 miles of standing traffic every morning and evening and that there were queues along the road even during the middle of the day. He commented that residents had experienced journeys of 45 minutes between Finchampstead Road and London Road. Members were informed that pollution levels exceeding EU limits had been recorded along Finchampstead Road. Mr Chafer commented that the cause of the problem was the volume of traffic and that this would only worsen with further development which would increase the number of cars accessing the area.
Mr Chafer commented that people were beginning to avoid the town centre because it was difficult to get around. Denmark Street and Peach Street in particular were very narrow. He suggested that the town centre be pedestrianised to make it a more attractive space. He highlighted Reading, Bracknell and Woodley town centres as successful pedestrianised areas. Mr Chafer commented that pedestrianising the town centre would require additional road capacity outside of the town centre. He suggested the extension of the Southern Distributor Road to Handpost Corner and a spur between Reading Road and Barkham Road, reopening Woosehill Lane.
Members discussed the petition. It was highlighted that traffic congestion was a national issue. Locally it was a Borough wide issue and not limited to Wokingham town centre. Members referred to traffic congestion in areas such as Earley, Arborfield, Woodley and Shinfield. A Member commented that traffic restrictions put in place by neighbouring local authorities close to the boundary exacerbated traffic congestion within the Borough as did traffic improvements works on the M4 implemented by Highways England.
Several Members commented that increased development would cause an increase in the volume of traffic and that this needed to be addressed. New developments would be supported by new infrastructure. A Member commented that the Council was working with the five other Berkshire unitaries to send a clear message to the government that the county currently contributed greatly to the economy but had large amounts of development in the area.
Members highlighted plans that were in place to deal with congestion. The Northern and Southern Distributor Roads were under construction. The Southern Distributor Road would offer an alternative route for large, high sided vehicles, removing the need to use Peach Street and Denmark Street. The Local Transport Plan encouraged cycling and a cycling route was being developed along the A329 corridor. Cycle routes were an important part of the planning of new developments in the Borough. The Plan also set out greater use of rail services. A Member commented that the Borough had a good bus service. However, traffic congestion also slowed down bus services, which could make it a less attractive option. Whilst ideally more bus priority measures such as bus lanes would be implemented, there were limitations such as conflicting demands for road space, frequency of service and width of the individual roads.
A Member emphasised that the Borough’s road network required continual maintenance and that this had an impact on traffic flow as could emergency repairs or utility emergencies which could not be scheduled for.
Members stressed that a Borough wide approach needed to be taken.
The following Motion was proposed by David Lee and seconded by Lindsay Ferris.
‘This Council will set up a working group to discuss all current highway plans and proposals under the existing Core Strategy. This group will in addition discuss and assess the current highway completions and ideas/proposals to alleviate the traffic challenges we have in the Borough especially considering the level of car ownership. This working group would be cross party and include a small number of residents who have shown a great and constructive interest in highway issues. This group should have one highway officer in attendance to provide necessary advice.’
Upon being put to the vote, the Motion was declared by the Mayor to be carried.
RESOLVED: That this Council will set up a working group to discuss all current highway plans and proposals under the existing Core Strategy. This group will in addition discuss and assess the current highway completions and ideas/proposals to alleviate the traffic challenges we have in the Borough especially considering the level of car ownership. This working group would be cross party and include a small number of residents who have shown a great and constructive interest in highway issues. This group should have one highway officer in attendance to provide necessary advice.