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02/07/08 : Reading must work with neighbours
Speaking for Labour at the launch of the Transport Commission’s report, Cllr. Tony Page, Lead Councillor for Strategic Planning & Transport, accepted fully Sir Brian Briscoe’s conclusions that doing nothing was not an option and that Reading’s traffic and transport issues could only be tackled across the Greater Reading area. He said that he would now be inviting representatives from West Berkshire, Wokingham, and Oxfordshire to meet Sir Brian, get an early and direct briefing on the Commission’s recommendations, and work out how to take them forward.
Cllr. Page said Reading has worked successfully with its neighbours, despite political differences, on the Reading Urban Area Package of road improvements, and he would hope to build on that, but Sir Brian’s report recommends carrying that co-operation to a whole new level.
“Sir Brian makes the case for neighbouring authorities to work together in making a funding case to Government, “ he says, “and on the idea of road pricing, on a third Thames Bridge, and on Park & Ride. The same goes, I’d say, for recommendations like extending premier bus routes into Greater Reading and improving bus ticketing options.
“Reducing congestion in Reading is not just important to people who live in Reading and are served by Reading Council. It’s also important to people from Greater Reading, served by neighbouring Councils, but who come into Reading to work, to shop, to study or to use our leisure facilities. All will benefit by their Councils working together to reduce congestion, and I hope all our neighbours will agree to do so.
“Sir Brian is saying we need to look at all his recommendations, not just the easy ones. He recommends that we should formally abandon the one-way IDR. The Labour Party did that in January, and I would expect to confirm it formally at Cabinet in the autumn.
“Perhaps most controversially, Sir Brian is suggesting we look jointly at road pricing to manage demand. All political parties in Reading have been thinking about this, and in fact only last week Reading Council agreed to investigate charging for lorries in particular. We will need to talk to the other parties about this and other issues, but I would like to reiterate at the start Labour’s long-standing policy, which is in line with Sir Brian’s report, that, if road pricing, or tolling, is introduced, there will not be any charge for Reading residents, including Greater Reading residents, going about their daily business. Our objective would be to deter through traffic and keep our roads free for Reading people and those who need to visit our town.
“We would wish to develop Sir Brian’s package with some of our own ideas, for example for better and safer facilities for pedestrians and cyclists and for tackling individual bottlenecks on radial routes, and we’re sure other parties and other groups will also have useful suggestions to add. As Sir Brian says, Scrutiny will have an important role in involving people in these issues and taking them forward.
“There has been huge public interest in Sir Brian’s work, with over 540 submissions and double the number of public hearings they had planned, and he and his colleagues have done a very valuable job for Reading and its neighbours in identifying the work to be done to reduce traffic congestion in Reading. Now it is up to us all to do just that, together.”
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