Adrian Betteridge
If you’ve picked up this paper early you may just be in time to give your view on Wokingham Borough Council’s proposals for making walking and cycling safer and easier
A network of routes between the most likely start and finish points for local journeys is proposed, and our views sought on routes and how we might make them safe.
You can see (anonymously) what others are saying, and there’s a wide range of views.
With this in mind, we thought we’d go back to ‘why’ this is important.
In Wokingham, we have many blessings and often rank highly in ‘quality of life’ tables. We still face many of society’s biggest challenges, just a bit less than some.
Air pollution affects everyone’s health, especially the young.
Wokingham has two locations where the council has to come up with a plan to reduce pollution from car traffic.
Healthcare is under pressure, in part due to chronic long-term illnesses.
GPs often recommend exercise as a part of the daily routine as an effective treatment, but people don’t think it’s safe to cycle on the road and can’t walk where they need to go.
Anyone who drives knows about local congestion.
New roads have given us more ways to reach the queue at the inevitable pinch points.
Giving people alternatives to driving for local trips that are attractive to use will make space for those who need to drive.
And then there is climate change, which doesn’t discriminate on the basis of your quality of life ranking, even if some may be better placed to cope with the consequences.
Climate change is caused by carbon dioxide, and our easiest way to reduce it is by driving less. Electric vehicles will help, but not in the short term.
It’s clear why the Westminster government and all of our local political parties support these changes.
So, when you look at the consultation and the online discussion around it, remember that it’s not about getting existing cyclists from A to B quicker.
It’s not a ‘war on cars’.
It’s not woke or political.
It’s about our quality of life.
It’s about our children, our health reliable journey times and protecting the planet.
The consultation at https://wokinghamboroughlcwip.commonplace.is closes on Friday, August 19.
For more, search Facebook for ‘WATCH Wokingham’
