Thread by @berkshirehorses

What is going on with the Reading Council coronavirus walking and cycling infrastructure, and why is it taking so long to implement?

#rdguk

@ReadingCouncil @readingcycle

1/

On May 15th Reading Council announced plans for new walking and cycling infrastructure.
democracy.reading.gov.uk/documents/s127…
There were 3 plans marked for immediate work that involved reallocation of road space
Reading Bridge
Gosbrook Rd/Westfield Rd
Sidmouth Street

Reading Bridge was implemented on June 12th. There was no TRO the assumption is that this work was done using the ‘experimental traffic order’ (ETO)

ETOs allow for road changes to be made immediately and observe and assess with live traffic.

@RantyHighwayman explains in more detail here
therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2017/01/experi…

Basically once the changes go in there is a 6 month objection period and the LA has 18 months to finalise any permanent changes.

Which is almost perfect for the coronavirus changes that many councils have put in. RBC have decided to only use this for the Reading Bridge changes.

I’ve previously complained about these new advisory cycle lanes (

https://twitter.com/berkshirehorses/status/1271385364893175808?s=20

)

The only positive is that this is the 1st time Reading Council has removed a car lane for a cycle lane as far as I’m aware. So this is some progress.

The remaining 2 first wave of changes will be done using temporary traffic regulation orders (TTRO)

It is unclear why a TTRO is being used for this rather than the ETO, which would allow for immediate implementation.

But even considering that they are using TTRO the scheme is delayed. No TTRO has been published so no work will begin for some time.

The Reading Council plan was announced 43 days ago

It appears that RBC are more concerned with enforcement of the rules rather than showing intention to make immediate changes and monitor the effects (which seems ideal case for an ETO). And this is slowing down the process.

It’s also interesting that their plans involved water filled barriers rather than a far cheaper alternative of cones & signs.

The SGN closure of Reading Bridge indicates how easy and cheaply it can be done.

Note that the new cycle lane is now converted to a sign lane....

The Gosbrook Rd/Westfield Rd could be achieved with 50-100 cones. 1 no entry sign (Gosbrook Rd/Prospect St). 1 no right turn (Wolsley rd/Gosbrook Rd) and 3 diversion signs for drivers who can no longer turn up Westfield Rd from Gosbrook Rd.

So why is this going to take 2 months?

This setup would also allow for contra-flow cycling on the shared pedestrian roadway. Which under the initial plans from Reading Council would not be allowed

Reading Council were quite fast to announce their plans. And this was before the Dft released there funding allocations to local councils.

gov.uk/government/pub…

Reading UA has been allocated upto £1.5m.
getreading.co.uk/news/reading-b…
@TevyeMarksonLDR

Funding awards were confirmed last week. And so far no announcement from Reading Council about how much of the potential £1.5m they will be awarded.

The @allpartycycling have been tracking some of the awards.

https://twitter.com/allpartycycling/status/1277650405447647236?s=20

It is worth noting that some councils have been rewarded for ambitious schemes by having their funding increased from the initial allocation

brightonandhovenews.org/2020/06/29/bri…

If DfT does not award the whole £1.5m it represents the council failing Reading residents.

The money was already allocated to Reading Council, all they had to do was produce a moderately ambitious plan to make walking and cycling safer

#rdguk

As a footnote it is also concerning to see a Reading Council member echoing tired strawman arguments about not everyone being able to cycle. Cycle infrastructure is about enabling people to feel safe and have a choice

Especially when there are multiple studies that show the primary barrier to people cycling is not feeling safe or comfortable on roads

@GBCycleEmbassy
cycling-embassy.org.uk/wiki/barriers-…

There also appears to be a disconnect between the council and SGN. As RBC appear to have been suprised by the sudden need to close Reading Bridge.

Will be interesting to see if the newly painted lines will be immediately dug up.

The SGN works have actually made the whole area a lot safer and nicer to be around

https://twitter.com/BridgeReading/status/1277661170208366592?s=20

In addition to this they have removed all the excess lanes from Vastern Roundabout so its a lot easier to use

The Sidmouth St changes have gone quiet.

But they were planning on doing the TTRO on June 1st, with implementation 4 weeks later.

So as there has been no published TTRO, going by that timeline this won't be done until the start of August even if the TTRO appears tomorrow