ON STREET parking is back in Rose Street after social distancing barriers were removed on Sunday.
But there are currently plans being made to expand the width of pavements in Denmark Street as the borough tries to keep shopers safe and motorists moving.
Two trial pedestrianisation days took place in July, but these were not felt to be successful with businesses and residents raising concerns at the impact closing the road had on traffic.
The council has been liaising with Wokingham Business Association in a bid to try and find some solutions to make the popular shopping street – which will eventually be a gateway between the new Elms Field development and Market Place – more pedestrian friendly.
The plans include installing low level rubber kerbs between the former Oscars cafe and Rossini on the southern side of Denmark Street and between the Retreat and the entrance to Denmark Street car park on the western side.
The area between the two will be left for delivery vans to use.
Under these plans, the footpath can be widened, but still allow enough width for cars to use. While the kerbs will be low enough to avoid problems for those with mobility issues, posts will be inserted at intervals to ensure motorists don’t confuse footpath with road.
The kerbs could be trialled from next month, but no decisions have yet been made.
The decision to remove the Rose Street barriers that blocked parking bays was made after research found that footfall was not enough to cause socially distancing pedestrians a problem.
As such, the on-street blue badge and the short stay parking bays were reinstated with enforcement of the 30-minute maximum stay from Monday.
Those using blue badge bays must display their badge clearly, or risk being fined.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “It’s been lovely seeing people return to support local shops, restaurants and the market stalls as businesses reopen.
“Wokingham is a fantastic town centre with a great range of businesses from national chains to more unique and quirky independents.
“Feedback from visitors is that Wokingham is a really safe place to visit with lots of space to socially distance, whether moving around, queuing or simply relaxing in the park or Peach Place to enjoy the buzz.
“We’re currently discussing ideas for Denmark Street with local businesses as we need to balance creating more pedestrian space, with supporting deliveries and allowing traffic to flow freely.
“Initial feedback has been positive and we hope to finalise proposals soon.”
And Colin George from the Wokingham Business Association said that there was no perfect solution.
“We’re trying to put social distancing measures in place at the pavements near to Stefan’s the butchers and Purple Butterfly, but that area is used for deliveries.
“If you do anything to that area, you then need to find somewhere for deliveries to the shops.”
He said that the proposed delivery bay wouldn’t be big enough and could cause some traffic to overhang on the pavements, which could cause issues for pedestrians.
“As Wokingham Business Association, we’ve had hard discussions with Wokingham Borough Council. There are three issues: there can’t be any disruption to traffic around the town centre, we need social distancing measures in Denmark Street to ensure public safety, and we have to let deliveries happen at any time.
“It’s a tough set of criteria that we have to meet and everyone has different ideas, but there are problems with every solution.
“There’s no resolution to it at the moment — this is like trying to put a quart in a pint pot.”
He added: “We don’t want anything to affect the businesses at all, it could make the difference between being a viable and unviable business. We don’t want to lose any of them.
“At the same time, Denmark Street is an A road, any vehicle can go down there, there are no restrictions on weight, widths or height. What do you do?
“We welcome anyone’s bright ideas, but they must encompass all the criteria.”
What do you think? Send your ideas to [email protected] and we’ll print the best
