As organisers of Kidical Mass Reading, we cycle a lot — for our commutes, groceries, school runs, and of course preparing rides! At first, you just feel the pain of having cars all around you. And then you start imagining how better things could be… if only…
That’s why we thought it may be time to suggest bike lanes, or various infrastructure changes here and there. We hope that it can start the conversation of making our Berkshire towns easier to cycle for everyone.
The first one we wanted to propose is on Forbury Road, between the Forbury “Banksy” roundabout and the station roundabout, along the Forbury Gardens. This is a 2×2 lane, very wide road. There’s a lot of pedestrians and bikes all the time, because it’s very close to the town centre. A lot of cyclists do not feel comfortable enough on the road here, and use the pavement, which causes difficulties with the pedestrians. There’s also a nursery located near the church, causing car and pram traffic. In short: a lot of potential collisions, and I’ve witnessed some myself, on my daily commute to the station.
It would be very easy to just reallocate a few feet from each of the 2 lanes on each side, and with a bit of paint, you get a nice enough bike lane in each direction.
Even better: grab a whole car lane! Suddenly you have a very decent width for a proper bike track, which can be protected with bollards or planters. And which can be enjoyed by bike riders of all age and capability!
Pedestrians too!
But wait, it’s not just for cyclists! As a pedestrian, having only one lane for cars would also make crossing the roundabouts much easier. Nearly every morning, I see a man trying to cross the “Banksy” roundabout with a young child. There’s no crossing facility at all there, so they have to wait for a gap in the traffic, and then run as fast as they can across the 2 lanes…
Finally, there’s a lot of flats that got built recently across the Forbury Retail Park, called Huntley Wharf. How do people living there reach the town centre? Currently, despite the short distance, driving probably looks more appealing than walking or cycling. We need to start prioritising the types of transport that does not hurt people and keep our air breathable. This bike lane would be a very good step.
What do you think?