Future Funding of Cycle Schemes
We have previously highlighted the on-going issue of funding for cycle schemes in Reading. RBC fund measures to support cycling, including adult cycle training, cycle security and parking enhancements, and include improvements for cyclists as part of roads resurfacing and bridge replacement projects.
However, funding for new cycle schemes has been provided through Government Active Travel Fund (ATF) grants, which have been linked to specific major schemes only, such as Sidmouth Street and Shinfield Road.
This has meant that there has been no funding to progress smaller cycle improvement schemes, such as town centre signing, making traffic calming cycle-friendly, widening paths through parks, filling missing links etc.
The good news is that this has all changed as part of the latest ATF grants to the Council. The grants now include capital funding to construct new walking, wheeling and cycle schemes, but this is no longer tied to specific major schemes. It also includes revenue funding for network planning, scheme development, community engagement etc – which is a part of the process which hasn’t been funded until now.
RBC has been awarded £575,563 capital funding and £180,587 revenue funding each year for the next four years. It’s not a huge amount, but is a good settlement considering the size of the town and is to be welcomed as it provides continuous multi-year funding for RBC.
RBC is presently looking at how this funding can be used, which is likely to be linked to feedback from the Task and Finish Group, which was set up to review progress with the Council’s Active Travel schemes. In the meantime, we have submitted a wide-ranging list of cycle schemes to RBC, including previous suggestions from members.
Bath Road and Castle Hill – Active Travel Tranche 3
The Bath Rd and Castle Hill scheme has been subject to a design review following consideration by Active Travel England inspectors. We understand that revised designs have been developed, which will need to go through the Council approval process before these options are discussed with ourselves and then going to wider public consultation.
Palmer Park to Woodley Cycle Scheme
Construction of the new cycle route has started in Woodley, which includes a segregated two-way cycle route, with kerb segregation along Wood-lands Avenue. This is only a small part of the overall scheme and is far from finished, but it is looking good so far. The only observation is that the low kerb separating the road from the cycle route means that it would be easy for cars to bump up onto the cycle route.
Cycle Hangars
RBC has confirmed that funding for cycle hangars at six locations has been identified and that the designs for each are being developed. Progress will be reported at the next CAST forum in early June.
Bus Lane Schemes/ Sidmouth Street Cycle Scheme
RBC has Government funding to introduce a number of bus lanes to improve service reliability where buses are presently delayed in heavy traffic.
The latest scheme is for a bus lane on A4 London Road between Redlands Road and Sidmouth Street. To accommodate general traffic displaced from London Road by the bus lane, changes are proposed to Sidmouth Street that would affect the existing cycle lane.
Whilst the Sidmouth Street two-way cycle lane has limited cycle use due to a lack of connectivity to other cycle facilities, it is disappointing to see that additional highway capacity for general traffic is going to be provided by taking away space that is currently dedicated for cyclists.
We have provided initial comments to RBC on the proposed changes. We have suggested that the proposed removal of this cycle facility would be more acceptable if improvements were included to make alternative local cycle facilities safer, more connected, more convenient and easier to use in order to develop the overall network of routes in this part of the town.
The bus lane scheme and changes to Sidmouth Street will be subject to public consultation later in the year.
Station Subway and North Side of Reading Station
We noted in the previous newsletter that although the route through the station subway and north side of the station was opened in August 2024, there had been no progress with replacing the temporary covers over the electric supply cables to the coffee vans.
I’m glad to report that just as the last newsletter was published, works were completed to put the cables in ducts underground, thereby removing the trip hazard for cyclists and walkers alike.
Cycle and Pedestrian Safety
Local media has recently highlighted a worrying number of injury crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians. Very often these reports have little detail of the incident, which results in the impression that cycling and walking are inherently dangerous.
We would like to see RBC develop a more coherent approach to reviewing road safety for vulnerable road users, with a particular focus on those sites with a high number of reported injury crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians.
School Streets
RBC has appointed consultants to update the Council’s approach to School Streets. One of the issues has been a lack of local volunteers to manage road closures at school arrival and departure times.
Future Schemes
The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) is the strategic plan for developing local cycling and walking networks, schemes and associated initiatives.
However, these are 10-year plans which seem relatively inflexible and they can quickly become out of date, meaning that opportunities can easily get missed. RBC is planning to start the process of reviewing the plan later this year. We welcome the opportunity to contribute towards the development of the new plan and will ensure that members are involved in the development of new schemes and initiatives.
The Community Infrastructure Levy generates funding from development schemes towards locally identified improvement schemes, including cycling schemes. RBC has appointed consultants to review the list of schemes, which will hopefully give cycle schemes greater priority.
Future Meetings
We have regular informal meetings with RBC officers to discuss progress on the various schemes and initiatives that are on-going. If there are any suggestions or issues from members, we would be happy to raise them at these meetings. Also, there are formal meetings with the Council which are open to the public.
The next Clean Air and Sustainable Transport forum (CAST) is on 9 June, and the next Cycle Forum is on 3 September.
Tony Carr
RBC Campaigner for RCC
