Tanhouse Bridge
For all those unfamiliar with this story, this is the new bridge that is being built as a pedestrian footbridge across the railway lines in Wokingham town centre.
It will provide one of the few ways to cross the railway that bisects Wokingham from north to south, that does not involve being on an A road.
Various local groups lobbied Network Rail (NR) hard to amend the original design which used steps instead of a wheeled vehicle friendly slope.
Unfortunately, this was in vain and the only concession from NR was that the bridge would be modular and designed to have ramps easily retrofitted at a later date and that the stairways would have a ‘wheel gutter’ to aid cyclists pushing their bikes.
The original bridges were demolished around Christmas 2023 with the plan being that the new bridge would be in place by March 2024. This was going to plan until the company building the new bridge went into administration, so since March we have a half-finished bridge in place.
NR have apparently committed to completing the bridge by the end of September 2024, although there has been no update on this since May.
I will be keeping an eye on this and attending relevant council meetings as WoBC have in the past recognised this as an important pedestrian access route and were fully in support of making it accessible for all – which it clearly isn’t if steps are installed.
Woodley Cycle Scheme
I was unable to get any further information on what is happening here. I will keep an eye out for any developments and hopefully will get an update for the next newsletter.
Reading Road Cycle Scheme Consultation
This consultation has now been completed for all three phases of the road from Winnersh into Wokingham town centre. No results have been made public but given that the last phase of the consultation finished in Spring, hopefully there will be some information made public shortly.
The Reading Road is the most used road into and out of Wokingham and a positive response to the consultation plans would support the position that this road needs comprehensive, continuous cycle infrastructure.
Local Transport Plan
This is due to be published later this year and in draft form gave a high priority to sustainable transport (walking, wheeling, cycling, bus and train travel).
Hopefully the final plan will match the promise of the draft. I see no reason why it shouldn’t.
Kidical Mass
Unfortunately, the August Kidical Mass which was due to be held on Saturday 10 August had to be cancelled because several of our key marshals were on holiday, and we did not feel it was safe for the ride to go ahead.
We rely on a very limited pool of marshals and are always looking for more people who would like to be involved. The time commitment is very minimal – one hour every few months or whatever time you can spare. We’re a nice and welcoming team of marshals, so please come along if you are available.
Cycle Funding
Wokingham now has three ‘oven ready’ (to use a past Prime Minister’s favourite phrase) cycle schemes which would become possible if the new government reverses the cuts to active travel funding instituted under the last government.
- The Woodley > Twyford cycle way
- The Reading Road cycle scheme
- The Tanhouse ramps
Please contact your local MP to show support for funding of sustainable travel and in particular local schemes.
Alex Cran
WoBC Campaigner for RCC
