Wokingham Borough Connect
REMINDER: Free bus travel when you board in the borough every Saturday until Christmas
Winter Carnival road closures
This Sunday (26 November) Wokingham town centre plays host to the annual Wokingham Winter Carnival and will see street entertainers, music, singing and dancing, fairground rides and the day will end with a laser light show.
The town centre will be closed from Peach Street at its junction with Easthampstead Road to the junction at Rectory Road/Shute End and by the entrance to the Denmark Street car park.
Free parking will be available at all Wokingham town centre car parks, starting at 10pm on Saturday 25 November through to 6am on Monday 27 November and free bus travel is on offer on the Lion 4/X4 throughout the day on Sunday 26 November.
Major gas works on Nine Mile Ride
Following multiple leaks in the gas network, SGN will be replacing the old metal gas pipes with new plastic pipes in Nine Mile Ride (Wokingham Without) and at the junction of Old Wokingham Road and Nine Mile Ride.
This work needs to be started urgently to enable a safe and reliable gas supply and to minimise the risk of further leaks in the area.
Work will start on Monday 4 December and finish late May 2024 and will be carried out in two phases:
Phase one
Work will take place Monday 4 December until Sunday 17 December to replace the pipe in Old Wokingham Road at its junction with Nine Mile Ride (at the roundabout).
There will be road closures and temporary traffic lights, as well as a temporary suspension of the bus stop.
Access for residents and businesses will be maintained and a signed diversion route will be in place.
Phase two
Work will start again on Nine Mile Ride on Wednesday 3 January to replace the gas pipe network in the road between Old Wokingham Road and Palmer Close. Nine Mile Ride will be closed in phases during this time.
Letters are currently being distributed to residents living adjacent to the works with more information on the scheme. A meeting will be held online at 4pm on 28 November (Tuesday) by SGN, which you can book onto by emailing sharon.dorrington@sgn.co.uk.
Survey on cycling and walking route continues
We want your views on the second stage of a proposed cycling and walking link from Wokingham town to Winnersh, this time between Emmbrook Road to Mill Close on the A329 Reading Road.
We’re consulting until 21 December on this section, which we hope will form part of a new 1.6-mile (2.5km) route along the main road. It’s one of many improvements outlined in our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and would be externally funded.
This second phase, incorporating Woosehill Spine Road junction, could include new toucan crossings to help you to cross the roundabout safely, either on foot or by bike, without having to use the subway.
If work goes ahead, the full route would run from Sadler’s Lane, near the M4 overbridge at Winnersh, to the western end of Broad Street in Wokingham. It would have a segregated cycle track, separate from both the pavement and the road, and other safety features.
Traffic would remain two-way but the speed limit would be reduced to 30mph. Design work is being paid for through the Government’s Active Travel Fund.
Park and Ride sites relaunched
The park and ride bus service between Winnersh Triangle and central Reading relaunches this Saturday (25 November) and will run every 20 minutes on Saturdays until at least April 2024.
Details of fares and parking costs can be found on the MyJourney Wokingham website. We’d like to extend the service to weekdays as well, depending on passenger numbers.
Funding for this renewed Reading Buses service is time-limited, so it must become commercially viable by March 2025 or it might have to stop again.
From Sunday (26 November), we’re also opening Coppid Beech car park, off Oak Avenue in Wokingham, so passengers can park near the Lion 4/X4 bus stops on London Road. The parking charges are:
- £1.50 for four hours or less
- £3 for more than four hours
Usage of the site, which also has 14 electric vehicle chargepoints, will be monitored and it could shut again if it isn’t well used. Please make the most of it if you can.
The Department for Transport provided funding to support our Bus Service Improvement Plan. We published this as part of our efforts to cut air pollution and tackle the climate emergency.
The park and ride sites were funded by the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and contributions from housing developers.
Upcoming roadworks
Barkham
2-way lights – B3349 Barkham Road
The lights will be in place between Blandford Drive and Limmerhill Road, from 27 to 29 November. This is to allow CityFibre to carry out Fibre Optic cable installation.
Earley
2-way lights – B3350 Wilderness Road
The lights will be in place between, Ramsbury Drive and Whiteknights Road, 29 November to 1 December, from 9.30am to 4pm. This is to allow BT to carry out manhole cover replacement. https://one.network/?GB136324024
Finchampstead
Multi-way lights – B3430 Nine Mile Ride
These lights will be in place at its junction with Range Road, from 27 to 29 November. This is to allow CityFibre to carry out Installation of fibre optic cables and associated work. https://one.network/?GB136206409
Hurst
2-way lights – B3030 Lodge Road
The lights will be in place between Sawpit Road and Whistley Green, from 27 to 29 November. This is to allow Thames Water to carry out fire hydrant maintenance.
2-way lights – A4 Bath Road
The lights will be in place between Canhurst Lane and Linden Hill Lane, from 28 November to 6 December. This is to allow SGN to carry out gas main changes.
Spencers Wood
Multi-way lights – Basingstoke Road
These lights will be in place at its junction with Mayflower Meadow, from 29 November to 1 December, from 9.30am to 4pm. This is to allow Gigaclear to carry out Fibre optic cable installation. https://one.network/?GB136407126
Keeping up to date
- For planned and emergency roadworks, follow our Twitter and Facebook pages
- To find out about roadworks near you, visit One.network
- For active and sustainable travel, including events, training and resources, visit MyJourney Wokingham
- Visit our major new roads page for plans and updates
- For information on re-surfacing and reactive carriageway repairs visit our pothole and road repairs page
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You can report any issues with roads and streets online, including street lights, problems with traffic lights, potholes, damaged street furniture, problems with road markings and removal of dead animals.
- On our parking and permits page, you can find information including car parks and costs around the borough, resident parking permits, park and ride services and appealing a parking fine.
- Our transport and travel page includes information on applying for a senior citizen or disabled person's bus and train pass and local public transport information.
- The blue parking badges page has information on applying for, using, replacing and returning your blue badge.
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