‘MRT’?
Yes, it stands for ‘Mass Rapid Transit’ which in most countries means an overhead or underground railway, but in Reading the plan is for a large road that will start at a new carpark beside the Waterside Centre, then bypass East Reading and run along the Thames riverside, over the Kennetmouth, and end up at Tesco on Napier Road. It will be for buses only, but with space for bikes and walking.
Why are the Council trying to do that?
The Council claims that without it, Reading can’t ‘grow’. They mean that the road will increase the capacity of people to get into Reading town centre from areas outside Reading, like Wokingham.
Aren’t people already coming in from Wokingham?
Yes, there’s the current level of traffic, through Cemetery Junction and other routes into Reading, which will be unaffected by the scheme, and there’s the existing public transport of trains and buses.
What can you do about the scheme?
Whatever your views on the scheme are, you can let the Planning Officer know here: www.bit.ly/eastrdgmrt
If you want more information you can follow the campaign group S.O.A.R. on facebook www.facebook.com/SaveOurAncientRiverside and on twitter @SOARReading
If you are opposed to the scheme going ahead you can sign the petition here: www.bit.ly/soarpetition
And if you live in Reading, you can let your local Councillor know personally – email them!
So, will this scheme help people in East Reading at all?
No. The traffic modelling from the Council shows that the new road will have no effect on congestion, or improve air quality. It will remove the unspoilt riverside from the Thames, and Kennetmouth, that so many people use as green space to walk, run, cycle, picnic and just relax in.
So why is the Council pressing ahead?
The Council says that there will be significant housing developments built in the coming years around Reading and Wokingham, and those thousands of new people will want to get into Reading.
Are they right?
Evidence suggests not. More and more people are working from home, significantly reducing the traffic on the roads. (The greatest recent increase in traffic is from home delivery vans! These won’t be affected by a bus-only bypass. Nor will the ever present and increasing traffic from school-runs.) Traffic on the London Road has been gradually reducing over the years, rather than increasing, so its likely that more buses could plan to use that route, rather than a new road. And there is no saying that people in new housing developments near Wokingham wont just work in Wokingham, or Bracknell, or any other near-by area with high employment in industries like TelComs and IT. The planned advancement of automated, driverless cars in the next few years makes old-fashioned ideas like building more roads to new carparks seem horribly out-dated.
What will it cost?
The current estimate (likely to increase with inflation and the complexity of a road-building scheme in a flood area beside a major waterway) is £24 million. With the associated Park & Ride at Broken Brow (beside the Wokingham Waterside Centre) planned by Wokingham, the cost is £31.5 million.
What’s the cost to the environment?
Just as enormous. Habitat will be lost, green open space will be lost, protected woodland will be destroyed, along with over 100 trees. The Thames riverside, and Kennetmouth, will be devastated.
What does the Environment Agency think about the scheme?
The EA doesn’t comment on the scheme as such, but does comment on the Planning Application. Their first response contained a large list of objections. Some of these may have been mitigated by changes to the Council plans, but the second EA response, containing a full list of updated objections, hasn’t been published by the Council. Other agencies opposing the Planning Application are the Wildlife Trust, the Napier Road flats, Newtown GLOBE, and many others, even including the Council’s own ecologist and Leisure Department.
What do local residents think about the scheme?
Hundreds of local residents have objected to the Planning Application. Thousands have signed petitions against the scheme because of the huge cost to the environment, to the tax-payer, and all for just a few extra buses an hour in the week. The new P&R won’t even be open on the weekends.
Why aren’t the Council doing something else instead?
Who knows! There are plenty of other options, but some have been ruled out and some don’t seem to have been properly considered. Local residents want to know why the Winnersh P&R isn’t being expanded, or a congestion charge brought in, or a proper bus lane considered on the London Road. The lack of any real comparison of alternatives is one objection that has been raised to the scheme.
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