By Cllr Jason Brock
Our annual residents’ surveys are a really valuable tool in giving you a voice to tell us what matters to you the most – and for us to make sure we’re focusing on the things that you want action on.
We know from the surveys that at the top of your wish list for Reading is better roads.
Our 2023 survey showed that a third of you wanted to see roads and pavements further improved, and so we’re continuing to concentrate our efforts on resurfacing.
Last year, we completed a substantial £9m investment in highways that saw more than 500 roads resurfaced, and we’re seeing the benefits of that with a 44% reduction in the number of pothole reports from the public – from 970 in 2019/20 down to 543 in 2022/23.
The Carriageway Annual Status and Options Report shows that 80% of our residential roads are in ‘Good’ condition, up from 35% in 2020.
The remaining 20% sit in the amber category where repairs remain desirable, with none of our residential roads classified as ‘Poor’.
This progress is fantastic news, and I hope you’re noticing the benefits. We know there’s more we need to do to keep up the momentum, and that’s why last year we began a subsequent additional £8m investment in road improvements.
This will see up to 105 more residential roads set to be surfaced in the coming year alone.
In addition to residential roads, up to 90 of Reading’s major roads most in need of repair will also receive surface treatment over the year, with the use of advanced equipment such as scanner surveys and video survey assessments to help decide which roads need to be prioritised for improvement.
In the coming financial year alone we’ll be spending £3.75m on residential road resurfacing and another £650,000 on pavement resurfacing to ensure pedestrians are looked after too and benefit from our improvements.
We remain committed to our ambitious Net Zero Carbon pledge by 2030, and the work of our Highways team will be a key contributor to that. This coming financial year we’ll spend £350,000 on carbon reduction and innovation. We’ve already planted around 450 trees along Reading’s highways since the resurfacing work started in 2020, with plans to again plant a substantial number more this year.
A push for innovation and carbon reduction has seen us buy the Council’s first fully electric line marking machine which uses a more environmentally friendly, cold-applied paint, and we’re ensuring our contractors have robust carbon reduction plans in place that match our own net zero plans.
Our Highways team also look after around 80 bridges and 300 other structures throughout the borough, and a two-year long £4m investment in these is allowing us to address those structures most in need of improvements.
In October, we were able to celebrate the centenary of Reading Bridge due to the work of the team to keep it in such great order.
This year we’ll be refurbishing Orbit Footbridge, behind Queens Road Car Park, High Bridge in Duke Street, which is a scheduled Ancient Monument, and replacing the old wooden footbridge in Kings Meadow on Thames Towpath near Thames Lock.
Whatever way you get around Reading – car, public transport, cycling or walking – we’re continuing to work on improving your experience.
Cllr Jason Brock is the leader of Reading Borough Council and ward member for Southcote
