FREE BUS passes for pupils attending the Bohunt School will be continued after parents expressed concern over plans to axe a proposed safe cycle route to the school.
As we revealed three weeks ago, Wokingham Borough Council can no longer promise to build a cycle path from Finchampstead to the Arborfield School by September this year. Instead it is proposing a safe route to school that involves a new greenway from behind the FBC Centre and along a country byway that backs onto an industrial estate.
Parents have raised concerns over this new route, saying that they wouldn’t be comfortable letting their children use the isolated pathway, particularly in the dark winter nights.
The council argue that the proposed route along Nine Mile Ride is not wide enough and around 60 homes have extended their boundaries, encroaching onto the existing council owned footpath.
At a meeting of the Executive last week, one of the parents, Lloyd Watkins, asked Cllr Malcolm Richards about the planned funding for the cycle way and what options for the delivery of the cycle path had been made and considered by members.
Cllr Richards affirmed that the council wanted to provide a safe cycleway along Nine Mile Ride between California Crossroads and Bohunt School.
“There was a planning commitment to provide a walking route to the new school, it was also agreed that it was desirable to provide a cycleway.
“Although not part of the planning requirement the council felt it would be beneficial and they would fund it.
“The council recognises that it has informed local parents that it intends to proceed with a cycleway and regrets the delay.
“When officers investigated the route, they found major problems which were constraining what could happen quickly. The council is committed to working with local members and parents to achieve a satisfactory and safe resolution for all parties at the earliest opportunity.”
Cllr Richards said the byway would be “sufficiently lit” and that this would be ready for September’s new school year.
“There are complex legal issues … that have prevented us from putting in the cycle route by September,” he added.
Cllr Richards pledged that he would be working “closely with local members, residents and parents in order to achieve the best result for the area and resolve these issues.
“It has been agreed that free bus passes on the number 3 bus route serving the school will continue until an alternative safe cycleway route is implemented.
“In addition, we have agreed a request by local members to undertake a feasibility study to find an alternative route for the cycleway and to consult with those members prior to a decision being made.”
In a letter on page 18 on the March 2, 2017 edition of The Wokingham Paper, the Finchampstead councillors have said that they are unhappy with the situation, but have been able to take action.
They said: “After our robust intervention, we are pleased to confirm that WBC has now agreed to look again at a solution to provide a safe cycleway down the Nine Mile Ride from Finchampstead to the Bohunt School. It is recognised that this cannot be delivered by September 2017.
“We have, therefore, demanded that the free bus service is maintained until a safe cycleway is in place down the Nine Mile Ride, along with a speed limit reduction to 30mph west of Manor Park Drive.”
