New Parking Restrictions in Tilehurst

Last Thursday’s TMAP (Traffic Management Advisory Panel) meeting approved a series of new parking restrictions across Reading including 5 in Tilehurst:

1. Junction of Victoria road and Armour Road
2. Junction of Calder Close and Chichester Road
3. Green Acre Mount
4. Junction of Corwen Road and Gratwicke Road
5. Dunstall Close

Along with other local Lib Dems I have spent some time in the weeks before Christmas canvassing opinions form residents living nears to these spots and the overwhelming majority in each case has been in favour of the new restrictions.

These new parking restrictions, following formal approval at Cabinet, will now be incorporated in a TRO (Traffic Regulation Order) and advertised in the press. There is then a few weeks statutary consultation period before the new restrictions can be implemented. This will all take a couple of months but hopefully they will benefit local residnets by deterring parking across driveways (as in Green Acre Mount) or parking where it blocks the view of other cars near junctions.

Rail fares up again

Today rail fares are going up (by much more than inflation) as they always do at this time of year. Rail travel in the UK is some 30% more expensive than in neighbouring continental Europe, a legacy of decades of under investment by both Labour and Tory governments. We still travel to London on slam door trains which you have to open from the outside after lowering the door window. Our railway infrastructure is shabby as well as expensive. You try finding a seat on a train from Reading to Paddington between 7:00 and 9:00 on a weekday morning.

In 1997 the new Labour government had the choice of halting privatisation (one of the last acts of the previous Tory administration) or letting it run. It chose the latter and allowed a botched process to carve up the old British Rail empire and make millions for private investors at the expense of the travelling public.

Fifteen years on and with subsidies reducing every year, the train operators are still charging the highest fares in Europe and raising them every year. Yes we can finally see signs of improvement beginning to take shape at Reading station and in three or four years time we may actually see more trains, newer trains and a system that can cope with the numbers of passengers that use it. The sad fact is that it is passengers who will be paying for it all through increased fares.

I have been a regular commuter to London from Reading for many years and yes the timekeeping has improved over those years but we still travelling on trains that were old when I started commuting, most are more than 30 years old today, and rush hour travel is anything but comfortable when you are standing in the aisle for 30 minutes.

I look forward the new Reading station and electric trains on the First Great Western and I also realise that the country’s economic situation precludes any major increase in fare subsidy just now but if we are ever to travel at reasonable costs to get to and from work and get more people out of their cars, then future governments will have to produce more subsidies if trains are going to take the strain.

Changes to Feed In Tariffs (FITs)

The government’s sudden decision to drastically reduce the FITs from 12 December has come as a real bolt from the blue to the solar panel industry. Up till now the UK had been developing a new, green, industry in the manufacture and installation of solar panels. These panels when fitted on the roofs of houses could provide a large chunk of the house’s domestic electricity needs. But the real bonus comes when during the day the solar panels are producing more electricity than the house needs and it is possible to feed excess electricity in to the national grid and get paid for it via a FIT which is paid direct to the consumer by his electricity supply company. The FIT for a typical householder is currently 43.3p for every kWh (kilowatt hour) of energy sold.

For an average house an outlay of £10,000 is needed to install the solar panels and the payback time is around 8-10 years, after which the solar panels could bring in an income of nearly £1,000 a year net for the remaining years of the scheme which runs for 25 years from installation..
After a slow start the demand for solar panels took off over the last year thanks to the government’s FIT mechanism which made solar panels affordable. The government wanted to boost the take up of solar panels so the FITs were raised temporarily for new installations that completed by 31 March 2012.

Already last summer the government was forced to rain back the FITs for larger installations as they noticed many country landowners were taking advantage of the generous FITs to create large scale solar farms. It produced more income than growing crops. Quite rightly the government did not want to be seen to be subsidising large landowners when the aim of the scheme was to encourage private householders.
However, the government seems to have got cold feet over the amount of subsidy it was paying out to support the FITs, and it has abruptly reduced the FITs from 43.3p to just 21p per kilowatt hour.

Many householders are now uncertain over the eventual returns on their investment as any installations completed after 12 December will only receive the new FITs, leaving them with payback periods extending to 15-20 years and greatly reducing the value of solar panel installation. There is now a real fear that the new rates will put most potential customers right off if they see the length of time it will take to recoup their investment and only a few years at the end of the scheme to reap any substantial benefit.

At a stroke, a new modern green industry has gone into a major panic. Firstly to complete as much work as possible before 12 December but then they face losing many of their potential customers who will be put off by the new FIT levels. Some 20,000 jobs may be at risk if the industry collapses as a result.

Tilehurst Car Park Charges – time is running out

With time running out before the new car park charges are implemented at the end of the month, I have written again to Cllr Page (the Lead Councillor for Transport) appealing to him to re-think these charges which could seriously damage trade for local shopkeepers in Tilehurst. Last month I helped the traders present a petition with over 2,200 signatures to Cabinet as the council was planning to do away with the free first hour parking in Recreation Road and Dunstall Close car parks.

This Labour Council says it wants to encourage local shopping centres but then hits Tilehurst with these car park charges. They have offered to keep just the first 30 minutes free but this is not enough for many elderly folk to do their shopping and they are a large percentage of local customers.

The council just does not see the potential losses for traders in The Triangle if shoppers prefer driving down to Sainsbury’s rather than using local shops.

This is no way to encourage local businesses in the middle of a serious recession.

Traffic Study in Tilehurst

Last week’s Traffic Management Advisory Panel (TMAP) discussed a brief report calling for a traffic study of the Tilehurst area to be made. As most residents already appreciate, there are some significant issue with traffic in Tilehurst, speeding along many roads, irresponsible parking, lack of crossings over some major roads, lack of facilities for cyclists and a general point that we give too much priority to cars in residential areas and we tend to forget about pedestrians and cyclists.

The council decided to set up a traffic study to look at the various issues in Tilehurst and draw up suggested solutions where feasible. The study will involve myself and the other Tilehurst Ward councillors.

I have raised Tilehurst traffic issues on numerous occasions in the past and I took the opportunity to report on the recent survey we did around the Elvaston Way and Hardwick Road area where we found that 89% of residents who responded to our survey (and over 120 of you did – out of some 400 properties) were in favour of a 20mph zone in their area. We think that 20mph zones should be the norm in residential areas. However the council is still dragging its feet on implementing then even though there is a wealth of statistics to support such a move. Follow this link to see some of them:
http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/Documents/20%27s%20Plenty%20prof%20briefing_v4.pdf

I look forward to participating in the new study although with the current council administration I am less than optimistic about concrete action any time soon.

Tory Tricks in Tilehurst

Yesterday I was shown a leaflet put out by the Tories in Tilehurst in which they claim that Sandra Vickers is ‘leading a petition to reverse the [car park] charges’.

Well excuse me for raising a discordant note but I was under the impression that it was the local traders themselves who organised the petition and, indeed, presented it to the council. It was I who first wrote to the press about the changes to the car park charges and it was I who arranged for the petition to be presented to the council’s Cabinet where the Leader of the Council was forced to publicly back down from the original proposals. Oh and I also wrote in previous blogs in support of the campaign.

In short we can all make exaggerated claims in leaflets but this ludicrous claim is an insult to Tilehurst’s shopkeepers and will only serve to lower the reputation of all of us local councillors who try to support our local communities.

Cllr Vickers may be new on the scene but she has enough old heads around to advise her that misleading the public is never a good idea.

Wide Area 20 mph Limits Encourage Cycling and Walking

From the 20’s Plenty Campaign

Slowing speed limits from 30 mph to 20 mph contributes to increasing the attractiveness of cycling and walking relative to other options. 20 mph increases physical activity and reduces traffic.

With the exceptions of road closures and congestion charging, it is hard to prove that any single traffic intervention results in raising active travel. A choice to walk or cycle is complex, involving factors like distance, route knowledge, safe routes, weather, topography and cycle parking. Yet, it is well researched that traffic speeds are a major barrier to choosing to walk or cycle. Perception of risk is strongly involved in the “how shall I get there?” decision.

Volumes and speeds of traffic are inversely correlated to walking and cycling levels – when one side of the equation rises, the other falls. Interventions that reduce traffic speed and volume are likely to promote walking and cycling and thus result in public health gains.[i] This is compounded by critical mass effects. Where there are more cyclists or walkers, safety increases due to its visibility and popularity, making drivers more conscious of vulnerable road users.

The key prerequisite for sustainable travel is creating the conditions in which walking and cycling are more attractive than car use. Reviews have found methods that pull people toward active travel include increasing the percentage of the local road network where speeds are limited e.g. to 20 mph (30 km/h)[ii] Unsurprisingly, in Europe 30km/h speed limits are the foundation of cycling and walking policies in Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

In Portsmouth, which implemented 20 mph limits on 94% of its roads in 2008, “over 40% of respondents stated that since the introduction of the scheme, there has been a safer environment for walking and cycling; and as a result, around a third of respondents felt that there had been an increase in pedestrian and cyclist activities in the local areas.”[iii]

Health professionals see lower traffic speeds as a foundation for increasing “active travel” leading to a healthier nation. The Association of Directors of Public Health with the National Heart Forum have developed a “position statement” on the benefits of 20mph as the default limit for residential and urban areas.[iv]

It is time to give people a real choice in how they travel by removing the fear of fast traffic from community streets. The authorities of over 6 million people have committed to do so.

More information at www.20splentyforus.org.uk
________________________________________
[i] Jacobsen,PL; Racioppi,F; Rutter,H (2009) Who owns the roads? How motorised traffic discourages walking and bicycling, Injury Prevention, v15, pp369-373.
[ii] Oja,P; Vuori,I (2000) PROMOTION OF TRANSPORT WALKING AND CYCLING IN EUROPE: Strategy Directions, The European Network for Promotion of Health-Enhancing Physical Activity. http://www.panh.ch/hepaeurope/materials/HEPA%20Walking%20and%20Cycling%20Strategy%20.pdf
[iii] http://www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/speedmanagement/20mphPortsmouth/
[iv] http://www.adph.org.uk/files/ourwork/policies/NHF_PositionStatement20mph_2010.pdf

Cyclists need lights at night

Whilst the above headline is obvious to most people there are an awful lot of cyclists who ignore the need to make themselves visible at night. It is amazingly common to see cyclists on our roads at night riding around with no lights.

Coming home last night I came across the scene of an accident in Hildens Drive by the junction with Berkshire Drive. A young cyclist with no lights had been struck by a car. I have no idea who was to blame for the accident but one thing I do know is that cycling at night without lights is just plain stupid.

We need an education programme to point out the obvious to the lunatics who cycle at night with no lights.

Update on Car Park Charges

We now have a large number of signatures on a petition which has been set up by some of the shopkeepers in Tilehurst who stand to lose a lot of their trade if the free first hour of parking is withdrawn.

The petition will be presented to the Council’s Cabinet by some of the traders. In the absence of Lead Councillor Tony Page (on holiday) the Leader of the Council Jo Lovelock will reply to the petition.  The Cabinet meeting is on Wednesday evening from 5:30 in the Civic Centre. It is open to the public.

Council to end free car parking in Tilehurst

Reading’s Labour Council  are putting up charges for car parks in Tilehurst. Not a huge issue you might think, but they are also going to end the current first hour’s free parking which allows shoppers to park in Tilehurst, behind the Co-Op or in Dunstall Close, do their shopping and avoid paying anything for the car park. It has been a great boon for shopkeepers in Tilehurst to have this first hour free for their customers whilst preventing other motorists from filling up the car park and jumping on a bus into town as used to happen, leaving no space for shoppers.

We really thought we had won a major battle two years ago when we got the council to agree to the first hour being free and this is a real blow to Tilehurst traders. Needless to say I have taken this up with the council and am awaiting a reply.

I will keep you informed.

Meantime the shopkeepers and Tilehurst Globe have a petition on the matter which you can sign in any of the shops in School Road.

See previous posts at  http://rickyduveen.mycouncillor.org.uk/?p=62 and http://rickyduveen.mycouncillor.org.uk/?p=142