London Road bus lane

Between Sidmouth Street and London Street in Reading, the inbound portion of London Road. A bus lane will be created in the leftmost lane. Google Maps is credited.

Converting the leftmost lane on London Road between Sidmouth Street and London Street into a bus lane is the goal of this project.

Assisting right turns down London Street in the direction of the town core is the goal.

Although the council is currently going through procurement, the bus lane was originally scheduled to be finished this month.

According to a November update on the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), a formal procurement process is anticipated to start in the upcoming year, contingent on legal resources.

The bus lane will be introduced in the spring of 2025 if the revised schedule is adhered to.

Oracle roundabout bus lane

The redesign for a bus lane in Southampton Street and The Oracle roundabout in Reading.

The project involves creating a bus lane along Southampton Street and The Oracle roundabout to create easier access for buses heading north into Bridge Street.

The bus lane was meant to be completed in September, however,  the scheme had to be redesigned as the initial design involved changes to traffic lights which can no longer be implemented.

Councillors agreed to begin a statutory consultation into the alternative design in November, meaning the bus lane could be created next year, subject to a procurement process.

Changes to TROs

Drivers were incorrectly fined along stretches of the red route in Reading.

Officials acknowledged last autumn that 6,316 driving fines in the municipality were improperly imposed as a result of traffic control orders (TROs) that were not properly executed.

A plan to reimburse those who had paid fines was adopted by the council at a full meeting.

In 2025, there will still be opportunities for people who were wrongfully fined to get their money back through a special website.

In November, council members were informed that 73 claims had been successful. The council’s chief executive, Jackie Yates, estimated that repayments would come to about £360,000.

The time needed to adopt redesigns to make Reading’s roads safer has been impeded by council officers’ efforts to remedy the inaccurate TROs.

London Road new cycle lanes

Reading’s London Road currently features a shared pavement for bicyclists and pedestrians. Local Democracy Reporting Service’s James Aldridge is credited.

Segregated bike lanes could be created by reducing the number of automobile lanes on a section of London Road between Cemetery Junction and Sidmouth Street from three to two.Currently, London Road serves as a shared path for bicyclists and pedestrians, allowing them to use the pavement in both directions.

Additionally, it contains three lanes that are accessible to automobiles and other motor vehicles.

However, according to a council plan, the road might be redesigned to have two lanes instead, with two segregated bike lanes taking up the remaining space.

A concept image for changes to London Road in Reading between its junctions with Cemetery Junction and Donnington Road. Credit: Reading Borough Council

While there is no timetable for the implementation of these cycle lanes yet, they were approved in principle when the council’s transport strategy 2040 was adopted in October.

A decision to implement road changes would have to be made by the council’s traffic management sub-committee.

Bath Road and Castle Hill new cycle lanes

A CGI of the Castle Hill Bath Road active travel scheme in Reading, with this stretch showing the view towards the Castle Hill roundabout. 

A long-delayed initiative to improve West Reading’s bicycle safety is expected to be completed next year.

The council received £1.3 million from the Conservative government’s Active Travel Fund in March 2022 for a project that began in 2021 to construct segregated bike lanes in Bath Road and Castle Hill.

The Bath Road project was supposed to be started this year but hasn’t been carried out, in contrast to other active travel projects like the Sidmouth Street and Shinfield Road cycle lanes.

Following a question from Tony Page, a 51-year Labour councillor who resigned in May of this year, it was disclosed during a council policy committee meeting that the plan needed to be updated.

The cycling lanes could be installed in 2025, pending the conclusion of a redesign, statutory consultation, and a procurement process, even though no specific timeline for the project is yet to be announced.

Moving traffic offence enforcement

Reading’s yellow box intersection of Eldon Road and London Road.

In November 2022, the council was granted the authority to police moving traffic violations, including stopping at yellow box intersections and driving in the wrong direction on one-way streets.

At first, 15 locations were designated for enforcement, giving the council the authority to impose fines on violators.

Only in locations where there is an urgent need have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) been implemented selectively.

In 2024, no new websites were launched. That is about to change, though, as the infamous yellow box at the intersection of London Road and Eldon Road will be enforced.

The following three yellow box junction sites are planned for enforcement in 2025:

Eldon Road/London Road
London Road/A33 Rose Kiln Lane (Matalan) Kendrick Road.

Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/