Having just landed the position of RCC representative for Wokingham Borough Council, I am still finding my way and hence this report will be shorter than people may have come to expect.
It’s to the credit of all those involved at WoBC that the Wokingham section of NCN422 will be completed before the end of the year, however there is still a lot more that could be done in the town.
The main news is that Phase 4 of the National Cycle Network (NCN) 422 linking Newbury and Windsor and running through Wokingham Borough along the A329 is due to start this week. This will link the East of the town centre to the Coppid Beech roundabout at the boundary with Bracknell Forest. The cycle network will provide a mix of on-road cycle lanes and shared use of off-road infrastructure.
The work will be completed in eleven stages, with stage 1 starting at Rances Lane working in the direction of the Coppid Beech on 25 May. Once Rances Lane to the Coppid Beech is complete the section from Rances Lane back towards the town centre and past St Crispin’s School will then be implemented, completing Wokingham Borough’s section of this project.
I hope the hard work of all those involved in the aforementioned project and its completion will help nurture the incredible surge in cycling that I have been seeing across the Borough since Lockdown started at the end of March.
Noticeably quieter roads (and the sunny weather!) have meant a much more pleasant cycling environment in the town and across the Borough and it is great to see so many people (especially whole families with young children) out and about on their bikes.
I even took the opportunity of unusually quiet residential streets to teach my daughter to ride a bike, which was a lovely, albeit nerve wracking experience.
It’s to the credit of all those involved at WoBC that the Wokingham section of NCN422 will be completed before the end of the year; however there is still a lot more that could be done in the town.
To date I have had some very positive conversations with several forward thinking Councillors who realise the economic, health and environmental benefits of encouraging active transport and I hope to have some positive updates in future newsletters.
If you hear of any road schemes or planning applications within Wokingham, do please get in touch. RCC had a positive influence on the designs of NCN422 and the North Wokingham Distributor Road and we can only have influence if we hear about new plans during the consultation stages.
Alex Cran
WoBC Campaigner for RCC
