CONGESTION and a loss of disabled parking have been cited as two reasons why a trial into the potential pedestrianisation of Wokingham town centre has been put on hold.
Last Friday and Saturday, Wokingham Borough Council closed part of Denmark Street to traffic to help shoppers with social distancing.
Because Wokingham is an historic market town, some of its pavements are narrower that newer towns. The experiment was a chance to see what impact the changes would make.
But it has been placed on immediate hiatus after just one week.
The council expressed its gratitude to residents, shoppers and business owners.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport, said: “We want to thank everyone for their patience during the two-day closure as we are aware it caused a bit of congestion around the town.
“We also heard concerns about the loss of the disabled parking bays on Denmark Street during the closure.”
The council says it will continue to monitor Denmark Street as more businesses re-open and footfall increases.
“When we introduced the social distancing measures into Wokingham town centre, we said we would continue to review our plans, listen to feedback and make sure they work as best as they can, especially as we adapt to changing government restrictions as lockdown relaxes,” Cllr Jorgensen added.
“For now, we have determined that no additional measures are needed on Denmark Street and we will continue to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the changes around the rest of the town.”
