Labour-run Reading Council is producing a new transport plan for the town.
Green councillor Dave McElroy (Redlands Ward) slammed Labour’s poor track record at tackling congestion and air pollution at a recent council meeting and called for the council to do better.
Under Labour’s previous transport plans congestion has got worse and air pollution is one of the worst in the country. To fix the problems caused by a council that has done nothing to alleviate transport problems for a decade or more is going to need a brave, gutsy administration with fresh new ideas, ready to take decisions.
We need a vision of a cleaner, greener, Reading and an immediate plan to get us there with ambitious targets. Anyone taking even a skim through this latest document will know it’s none of those things.
Greens councillor Dave McElroy supports ambitious cycling targets
At a recent meeting, Green councillor Dave McElroy highlighted the lack of ambition on cycling.
In 2016 11.6% of adults in Reading were cycling at least three times per week. Under Labour’s current transport plan cycling levels have fallen. Labour’s new local transport plan hopes to increase this to 15% by 2040. This is a tiny increase of 3.4 percentage points from 2016 levels over a long 17 years.
For comparison pre-pandemic cycling levels in nearby Oxford were at an impressive 25% and Cambridge a whopping 40%.
So we’re still stuck in Labour’s traffic, still breathing in pollution.
There’s nothing much in the new local transport plan to consult on, but it’s going out to public consultation anyway, and I’m sure the public will let Labour know what they think of it.
Greens will keep working to promote healthy sustainable transport and tackle congestion and air pollution. We want to see more ambitious targets which will drive progress on these important issues.
Greens are the second largest party in Reading
Fortunately, there’s now real, constructive opposition on Reading Council. Following the local elections in May the Green Party has consolidated its position as the second largest party on Labour-run Reading Council.
There are seven Green Party councillors and we are now two councillors ahead of the Conservatives. There is a growing team of hard-working Green councillors standing up for residents across the town.
If you’re keen on being part of the change in Reading, get involved and help us make Reading fairer, greener and cleaner: reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved
By Green Party councillor Rob White, leader of the main opposition group on Reading Borough Council
