The leader of Wokingham Borough Council has said he ‘doubts’ traffic caused by Reading’s new controversial bus lane will improve.
The dedicated lane for bus journeys on the A4 London Road has left only one lane for cars after opening in August.
Reading Borough Council (RBC) introduced the change to the route along London Road to Sidmouth Street as part of a £26m investment in bus services across the town.
The lane has been branded as ‘appalling’ by residents who complain of worsened traffic. As well as this, concerns raised over whether neighbouring authority Wokingham Borough Council and emergency services were properly consulted.
The issue was first raised at a full Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) meeting by ward member for Thames, Councillor Sam Akhtar.
Councillor Akhtar said he had Wokingham residents from across the borough complaining that the initiative has created ‘increased congestion, more stationary traffic, and a displacement of vehicles onto roads within our borough’.
Responding to the question, Cllr Conway said he was ‘concerned greatly’ about the scheme and was pushing RBC to ‘address this as soon as possible’.
He went on to claim that WBC were ‘not aware of any formal stakeholder consultations on the scheme’.
But RBC has said that the neighbouring council was invited to public informal meetings as well as ‘statutory’ meetings on the matter.
As well as this, Wokingham Borough Council were ‘generally supportive’ of Reading’s overall strategy on transport – of which the London Road bus lane was included in.
Speaking to the News, Councillor Stephen Conway, leader of Wokingham Borough Council said he ‘doubts’ whether the situation will get better.
Cllr Conway added: “It’s clearly a problem for residents trying to get into Reading.
“It seems, from these apparently contradictory statements that there may have been a miscommunication between the two councils.”
The leader emphasised that it is more important to work together to find a solution, rather than focus on whether there was enough consultation.
It comes as Reading Buses have announced significant delays on some services due to congestion on the London Road, where the new bus lane has been installed.
WBC have been working with Reading Buses, who are ‘aware it’s a problem’, according to Cllr Conway.
A spokesperson from RBC previously told the News that colleagues in Wokingham were ‘regularly kept informed’.
The spokesperson said: “The implementation of the London Road bus lane was expected to have an impact. This is particularly while road users adapt to the change and find alternative routes, or other means of transport, into Reading.”
