Change to busy Reading road to speed up bus journeys

A bus lane is currently in place along Oxford Road heading west towards the town centre, up to its junction with Grovelands Road which reserves that road space for buses.

But now Reading Borough Council is preparing to remove the bus lane so that a new one can be created heading west, away from town, from the junction of Tidmarsh Street to the Norcot roundabout.

For the new bus lane to be created, the council had to revoke the existing bus lane, which was discussed at a meeting of its traffic management sub-committee on Thursday, June 13.

READ MORE: The new bus lanes being created in Reading explained

In a required consultation into the change, five people responded, with three objecting and two in favour of the plans.

One objector said: "What an utter waste of time and money, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what's there.

"Before mucking about with the roads and playing with bus lanes, why not introduce a park and ride this side of town to enable people to go into town without having to drive?"

Another objector said:  "I honestly believe that this will cause massive disruption and achieve nothing.

"The major issue with that area is the bus stop just after the junction with Grovelands Road. If a bus stops and traffic can't get passed it, the traffic backs up, causing issues with the yellow box junction and closing the Oxford Road.

"This is the issue that needs to be addressed, not causing further disruption for no gain."

The inbound bus lane along Oxford Road, Reading that is set to be removed to create space for a outbound bus lane. (Image: Reading Borough Council)

James Clements, the council's transport programme manager argued that the issue with that bus stop would be resolved once the change is implemented.

During discussion, councillor Sarah Hacker (Independent, Battle) said: "I think this is a great idea, and has been since these ideas were proposed a while ago now.

"I think it's really going to help improve the flow of traffic because the traffic is mostly heavy going westbound.

"It's going to speed up the bus service which is vitally important and it is going to take away that block at the bottom of Grovelands Road.

"Now we've got the yellow box junction that is enforceable in place, it's a real guessing game as to whether or not you will turn the corner and find a bus.

"This will remove this problem."Reading Borough Council approved plans for an outbound bus lane between Pangbourne Street and the Norcot roundabout.

Her comments were supported by John Ennis (Labour, Southcote), lead councillor for transport.

Cllr Hacker also agreed with a comment that asked for the Oxford Road to be made greener. She said: "I 100 per cent agree, let's do more, let's look at what we can do to change the Oxford Road to make it a greener and more friendly place for pedestrians and cyclists, I think this is a really good step forward."

The revocation of the inbound bus lane was agreed at the meeting on Thursday, June 13.