THE LEADER of Wokingham Labour has criticised the borough council’s findings from a plastic kerb trial.
At the end of January, Wokingham Borough Council announced that the edging will be used more often, after they were trialled in 2020.
Plastic kerbs were first installed a new cycle path on London Road in Wokingham in a pilot scheme.
Council research has now concluded that the plastic edging is faster to install, reduces carbon, and has improved worker health and safety.
However the decision to continue using the kerbs has been criticised by Cllr Rachel Burgess.
Cllr Burgess said that large holes and cracks have appeared in some of the kerbs on the corner of Plough Lane.
She said: “Despite the Conservatives’ grand claims about the durability of these kerbs that are ‘designed not to chip or crack’, already the disrepair and damage is clear to see at the corner of Plough Lane.
“These kerbs have large holes in them, and the cracks and holes have left sharp edges that are plainly dangerous. We need infrastructure that will last, not kerbs that will need replacing every few months with the inevitable disruption that will cause.”
The borough council recognised that the kerbs have not been in place long enough to test their long-term durability. However it said that other areas have reported that they last as long as concrete kerbs.
Cllr Pauline Jorgenson, executive member for highways and transport at the council said that she was pleased to see “positive outcomes” from the trial.
The council reports that the kerbs save enough carbon to power 35 houses for a year.
Cllr Gregor Murray, executive member for residents, communications and emissions, added: “I am hugely encouraged by the carbon savings that have been made just by this small pilot project.
“It’s easy to forget how big an impact an everyday occurrence like changing the way we replace a kerb can have on our carbon emissions. This project proves that we should be thinking about our carbon savings in every piece of work we do.”
