PLANS to nurture the recent enthusiasm for cycling and walking were raised by resident Alex Cran at the online meeting of Wokingham Borough Council, held on Tuesday, June 16.
Mr Cran asked: “One small positive to come out of lockdown has been seeing the huge numbers of people of all ages out cycling, walking and running on the quieter, cleaner and less congested roads.
“It is great that in the past the Council has committed to active transport as shown by the ongoing completion of the Borough’s section of the Newbury to Windsor cycle route.
“Increasing levels of walking and cycling can help the Council meet its commitment to go carbon neutral by 2030 as well as keeping it at the top of the healthiest and best places to live in the UK not to mention boosting local economies and reducing traffic congestion and travel times for those driving or travelling by bus.
“In view of this, what specific plans does the Council have?”
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Executive Member for highways and transport, said that there are plans for temporary measures around Wokingham Town Centre which will help visitors maintain social distancing and encourage walking and cycling into and around the town, and wanted to see how they could balance the needs of cyclists with the needs of motorists.
“These works are likely to utilise the first tranche of funding (£152,000) which DfT have allocated to Wokingham. There is then going to be an opportunity for us to receive a second tranche of up to £607,000 later in the year. We need to move quickly to deliver the initial works and demonstrate to DfT that we can deliver in the short timescales in order to qualify.”
She added: “because of the timescales we are unable to consult in the usual way, but we will be seeking feedback as the changes are rolled out.”
And concluded: “You may be aware that Wokingham Town Centre has been the focus of one of the DfT’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) pilot projects.
“We intend to complete this for the Town Centre and then roll these out across the Borough so that eventually the whole Borough will benefit from a plan for walking and cycling forming a cohesive network based on data and evidence to ensure.”
