I was delighted to win RCC’s “Good” photo competition category with a picture of the Tiger crossing on Gosbrook Road.
I love this crossing for three reasons:
1. Bikes are given their own space.
2. It completes a route I need (between our home and the park!).
3. My six-year-old can use it safely.
We are a family who cycle everywhere but our son generally does not ride his own bike. Instead he sits on a bike seat or rides on the tandem, where we can manage the visibility and positioning. Reading’s cycle infrastructure expects us to tangle with traffic he just can’t manage alone.
As a parent, one of my jobs is to give him the freedom that his maturity level allows. It frustrates me that, unless things change, the limitation on where he can go alone as a teenager will be the quality of Reading’s cycling routes.
I’m encouraged, though, by the warm noises coming from the Council on active travel. I’m even more encouraged by the proposed consultation on opening up the tunnel under the railway to bikes. Crossing the railway is a major block for planning a kid-friendly route into Reading from Caversham.
Please respond to this consultation and any others like it in the future – for the sake of every child who deserves the space to cycle safely in their own town. And, hopefully, next time RCC run a photo competition, there will be fierce competition in the “Good” category!
Hilary Smart
I do like the crossing – though it’s positioning could be more convenient. There is a major problem with it though. It is very poorly lit at night and cars travelling down Gosbrook Road (too fast as usual) often drive straight through.