I am delighted to have recently joined the executive of the borough council, with responsibility for active travel, transport and highways. It’s a subject close to my heart, with my first foray into local politics having been working with the council to help improve provision for walking and cycling.
Long-time readers may remember the monthly column on that subject that I used to write in this paper.
As a local councillor, I know how important travel issues are to people and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to get help.
As well as our own regular inspections of roads, cycleways and footways, anyone can report an issue using our online mapping system at wokingham.gov.uk/roads/report. The maps also let you view issues already reported in your area and you can add your contact details to an issue to get personal updates on progress.
We have also made it easier for you find out about what we are doing. Visit wokingham.gov.uk/roads/roadworks for information about upcoming council and utility company road works in your area, and for links for our weekly newsletter and social media alerts. Details of our annual road maintenance programme, currently in full swing, can be found at wokingham.gov.uk/resurfacing, including information about how we select the roads and paths to resurfaced or treat. We have recently added a Customer Liaison Officer to help with communications in this part of our work. We are also in the process of making information available online about the road safety issues that have been raised to us and how we are dealing with these.
You can find out more about subjects such as active travel, reporting a road safety concern or requesting a parking permit, and many other things, on our website. Simply visit wokingham.gov.uk and enter the topic you are looking for in the search box.
If you cannot find what you need, you can contact the team using our online Highways General Enquiries form at wokingham.gov.uk/HGE or call the main council telephone number and select the option for roads and road maintenance.
Keeping the network safe is our priority, but we are not standing still on other issues. We are also intent on improving the network and public transport, to serve new housing, meet changing travel demands and in response to requests from the public. However, like almost every aspect of local government, many years of underfunding means that we cannot do everything we would like to do.
Like the residents we serve, we are on our own journey: to get the most from taxpayer money in both the short and long term, to be more transparent about how we work and to strike the best balance between maintenance, improving safety and making our transport network fit for the future. I look forward to being able to tell you more about all of this in later articles.
Cllr Adrian Betteridge, Executive Member for Active Travel, Transport and Highways
