Transport Plans and Strategies

Motion on Shinfield Rd, Christchurch Rd and Whitley Street Consultation

Managing Our Transport - Improving Our Neighbourhoods

What do we want to do?

Reading Borough Council aims to improve transport throughout Reading in line with the strategy set out in its Local Transport Plan 2 (LTP2). The strategy is to be implemented in part through Action Plans focusing on what is needed along key routes into central Reading and accessing local centres.

The aim of this study is to improve the local centres of The Maidens (Shinfield Road broadly between Whitley Wood Road and Elm Road), Christchurch Green and Whitley Street, the road that connects these centres and the adjacent roads in order to:

• increase road safety for all users;
• better manage traffic; and
• improve local access to local centres, particularly by bus and foot.

Why do we want to do something now?

Road safety has long been recognised as an issue along Shinfield Road, Christchurch Road and Whitley Street, but only now do we have the opportunity to offer more than a stand-alone road safety / traffic calming scheme through this study.

The key to managing traffic is influencing what route drivers choose to reach where they want to go. Improvements to M4 Junction 11 mean that traffic travelling between South Reading and Earley no longer needs to cut through The Maidens. Traffic without a destination along Shinfield Road or Christchurch Road could be encouraged to use another route. This is particularly important as new developments being built off of the A327 in Wokingham Borough could increase congestion.

Where do we want to do something?

A key aim is to improve access to the three local centres from nearby neighbourhoods, so it is likely that the most changes will be made in the vicinity of these centres. The LTP2 and other Council policy documents say that pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users are to be given more consideration. This is particularly important in local centres, where wider pavements, convenient crossings, bus lanes and helping buses and cyclists through signals quickly could be options to give more priority to pedestrians, cyclists and buses.
Understanding Issues and Opportunities

Reading Borough Council has collected information about what is happening on Shinfield Road, Christchurch Road, Whitley Street and in the nearby areas, including accident data, bus monitoring records and movement surveys. Analysis of this information highlights the following transport issues:

• Traffic accidents in Whitley Street and The Maidens local centres, at junctions along Shinfield Road and along the length of Christchurch Road;
• High speeds along Shinfield Road which has a 40 mph speed limit and along Christchurch Road;
• Wide roads with few crossings may intimidate pedestrians, limiting movement in local centres;
• Inconveniently located, staggered pedestrian crossings do not provide the most direct or desirable route;
• Cluttered, unattractive pavements through local centres;
• No bus priority to improve journey times and reliability despite rapidly growing bus patronage on No. 9 and No. 20/21 becoming premier routes in February
• Lack of facilities and poor signing for cyclists
• Poor quality on-street parking

How Did You Contribute?

Over 400 of you responded to the questionnaire we sent out and about 90 people attended the public exhibitions in February with plenty of local knowledge of the roads and local centres. A summary of the response and feedback on what happens next can be found on the leaflet which has been delivered throughout the area or you can download below.

Results from the survey were analysed in more detail and presented to Reading Borough Council's Cabinet in July, along with a recommended approach to progress the study and develop packages of measures.

We'll be coming back to you for more views when we have designs for particular areas to show you � so watch this space and be part of the MOTION on Shinfield Road / Christchurch Road / Whitley Street to improve your neighbourhood!

Downloads