Tanhouse Bridge
The saga continues…. After much back and forth between Network Rail (NR) and Wokingham Borough Council. Work on the new bridge started just after Christmas 2023 with an aim to have it completed by February 2024.
Unfortunately, the company doing the work went into administration leaving a span without any ramps for most of the year. Work to install the stepped ramp started in Autumn and was completed fairly quickly, with a plan for a grand opening on 1 November.
In the run-up to the opening of the bridge the Wokingham Active Travel Community Hub (WATCH) were asked to discuss the issue on Phil Mercer’s breakfast show on BBC radio Berkshire on Tuesday 29 October (for anyone interested it was just before 0800 in the morning and can still be found on BBC Sounds!).
Given how many Council meetings I had been to during the planning ‘approval’ process, I was happy to attend on behalf of WATCH and talk about this issue.
I was on with Gold medal winning Paralympian and Equality Advocate Sophie Christiansen who was born in Wokingham and talked about the impact that bridges without ramps have on people with mobility issues, cyclists and others using wheeled transport.
This story was then picked up and added to the BBC local news section of the main BBC website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9njwx30rpo). It is great to see this issue getting more publicity.
After all the issues the bridge opening was delayed and it did not open on 1 November, despite the bridge being completed, apparently due to issues with the footpath connecting the bridge from the south.
To my knowledge it still hasn’t opened but hopefully we will get some good news soon and can continue to push for more inclusive and, of course, cycle friendly ramps to be installed in place of the steps.
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.
Kidical Mass
Wokingham had a successful Halloween Kidical Mass on 27 October. We decided to branch out and fellow WATCH members Natalie and Danny kindly designed an excellent 2.5 miles circular route, starting and finishing at the Stables café in Arborfield.
The weather wasn’t on our side with heavy rain earlier in the day which made the ground wet, although the rain mostly held off for the ride. We had about 30 cyclists in all, which is down on usual numbers but not bad for a wet day in October.
The next Wokingham Kidical Mass will be a Christmas ride starting at Elms Field on Sunday 15 December at 2pm.
Alex Cran
WoBC Campaigner for RCC
