CONCERNS have been raised over the impact on residents of a new bus lane on one of the busiest roads in Reading.
In the spring, Reading Borough Council intends to shake-up the two-lane stretch of London Road from the Suttons Seeds roundabout to Cemetery Junction.
Most of the route will become a single lane, with a bus lane next to it. The exception will be the left turn into St Batholomew’s Road.
It is part of an overarching plan to make it easier for public transport to operate, reducing journey times and making it more attractive to hop on a bus rather than waiting in stationary traffic.
Reading’s Green Party spoke in favour of the six routes selected except for this London Road scheme.
And there are fears that when the new scheme comes into effect, it will adversely affect Newtown residents wanting to turn into or come out of Liverpool Road. At the moment, with the two-lane set-up many drivers have to wait for pedestrians to use the crossing towards Palmer Park before it is safe to pull out of the junction.
But when the new rules comes in force, it will be harder for motorists as they will either hold up traffic when they attempt to pull into Liverpool Road or not be let out on to London Road when the pedestrian crossing is in use.
Similar issues will be present with the junction of Amity Road and London Road.
During a consultation period into the scheme, the council received 85 comments in support but 122 objections.
Despite this, a meeting in January saw councillors give the scheme the green light.
Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for climate strategy and transport, Cllr John Ennis, said the changes will cause jams, but the scheme is to encourage people to change their journey habits, help the council meet its net zero targets, and tackle poor air quality.
“These ideas haven’t been plucked out of the sky, they are aimed at how we can tackle poor air quality,” he told the meeting. “The way to defeat that is to enhance our public transport, that is the way to do it.”
Construction on the London Road scheme will take place in May.
The area is in Park Ward, and Cllr Rob White, leader of the main opposition party on Reading Borough Council, is one of its councillors.
He said: “Green councillors supported five out of the six new bus lanes. However, we have concerns about the new section of bus lane on London Road by Palmer Park.
“The modelling that the council has done so far shows that the rush-hour traffic jams for vehicles heading into Reading will double. But the council is still waiting for some of the traffic modelling to be completed.
“At the traffic committee we asked for this scheme to be moved to the back of the queue while the council waited for the outstanding traffic modelling to come back.
“We don’t think the council should just hit and hope. We think that the council needs to fully understand the impact of this scheme on things like rat-running and the junctions with London Road and what countermeasures are necessary before deciding to go live.”
