RESCUE in Tilehurst

This weekend being RESCUE weekend I went out to volunteer, with other Globe members and quite a few Tilehurst residents of all ages, in the annual clean up operation.

I spent two hours with two other volunteers, Pam and Jane, clearing up litter from the footpaths round the British Legion. We pulled out three large sacks of recyclables (mostly cans) and three of other rubbish. Much of the rubbish had to be pulled out from amongst the brambles and undergrowth. It was quite a struggle.

The good news is that the alleyways round by the Legion are now clear of litter for the first time since last year’s operation.

Anyway it was a job well done and there are more volunteers getting out this afternoon and tomorrow to clear up other parts of Tilehurst.

Dogs doings

I am sure that many ward councillors are approached by residents with stories of dog mess left lying on footpaths and other public places by inconsiderate dog owners. Despite the council installing a multitude of dog bins around the town, dog owners seem to think it is their right to leave their animals mess wherever it happens to fall.

Yesterday I visited one particular footpath in Tilehurst that has clearly been used as a public dog toilet for a very long time, the grass verges alongside the footpath are covered in piles of dog mess, despite the presence of a dog bin opposite one end of the footpath.

I cannot believe that dog owners would let their dogs pooh in the road outside their front door but they are quite happy to let their dogs pooh next to someone else’s house or garden.

The state of public places like this footpath are the reason that we Lib Dems have forced the Labour administration on the council to beef up the dog warden unit with an extra warden, despite the current financial position we find ourselves in. We do believe in keeping our streets clean and dog mess is a public nuisance.

Right royal battle with the monarchists

This week’s council meeting saw the Tories propose a motion congratulating HM The Queenon her Diamond Jubilee and offering loyal greetings and congatulations on behalf of the Councillors and citizens of Reading.

Suffice to say that I am anything but a loyal subject of Her Majesty and I definitely don’t do sycophantic grovelling. Here is my response to the Tory motion:

Without wishing to dowse the flames of patriotic celebrations being called for by Cllr Willis, I would like to point out that not all of us are quite so willing to be loyal subjects of Her Majesty.

We in the Liberal democrats have no party line on the monarchy so my views are mine
alone, I cannot speak for the party on this matter.

I am a democrat, an atheist and therefore also a republican. Now I know that Brits hate
rocking boats and it is not good form to admit to being a republican in this country but
nobody has ever yet convinced me that an hereditary monarchy has any place in a
democracy in the 21st century. So I will not be joining Cllr Willis in sending ‘loyal greetings’ as I could never be loyal to an hereditary monarch and retain my democratic ideals.

I have spent endless time supporting and campaigning for equality; equality of colour, race, gender, sexual orientation, equality of opportunity, so how can I with one breath shout hurrah for equality, democracy and civil rights and in that same breath shout God Save the Queen. I cannot equate democracy with an hereditary monarchy…period.

I am not sure that here and now at this late hour are necessarily the place and time for a full scale debate on the monarchy and it would not be a sensible way to spend our time as elected representatives of the people of Reading.

But I would like to record my views, and I am sure I am not the only one to hold them in this town of Reading, and to vote against this motion.

I was, of course, alone in voting against the motion, although the two Green councillors abstained. From comments received after the meeting there are a significant number of people in Reading who agree with my thoughts on the monarchy.

Lib Dems force changes to Reading’s budget

Together with my Lib Dem colleagues on the council we have got the Labour administration to amend their budget to include a couple of extra items to focus more resource on something that many rersidents are clearly worried about, namely the state of our streets.

The Lib Dem amendment uses money from reserves to

* boost the anti-graffiti effort (£27k for an extra officer)
* put more effort into clearing up dog mess (£16k for an extra Dog Warden)
* avoid the proposed increase in the cost of 2nd parking permits (£18k)

Overall an additional £61,000 is being put to better use whilst keeping the reserves at the agreed £5m level and keeping the council tax bills at the same level as last year.

We have a continual struggle in Reading to keep our streets and public places clean and clear of litter and it does sadden me when you see graffiti, litter and dog mess all over the place. It is a constant theme at our ward surgeries.

Here in Tilehurst we do seem to be getting better at keeping our streets clean but only thanks to the efforts of the council’s Streetcare Team who clear up the area around The Triangle every morning. They are doing a pretty good job. It would help if people reported graffiti or litter or fly-tipping to the Streetcare Team on 0800 834035 or contact me and I will take action to get the mess cleared up.

Together we can smarten up our village and Reading as a whole.

33 Bus Route Changes – Again !

It has become clear now that Reading Buses are planning to change the route of the 33 bus permanently after the roadworks in Hildens drive are completed.

In reponse to complaints from residents of the far end of Chapel Hill and Westwood Glen all inbound journeys on route 33 will divert up Chapel Hill and down Westwood Glen. Outbound buses heading for the Birds Estate will continue to run the full length of Lower Elmstone Drive as they do currently.

I have already received a complaint from a resident of Lower Elmstone Drive who will now have a very long walk in order to catch a bus into town, although coming home will remain a much easier journey.

The roadworks in Hildens Drive are scheduled to take another 4 weeks or so.

Snow Clearing in Chieveley Close

Well we finally got our wintery downpour yesterday evening and woke up to several inches of snow.

With well-drilled military precision my neighbour over the road was up early and clearing the snow from around his drive sometime after 9 o’clock this morning. I joined around half past nine and soon we had half a dozen men and at least one woman clearing the road. By half past ten Chieveley Close had been cleared and we all retired for a well-earned cup of tea. The kids of course had been snowballing all along.

Well done the Chieveley crew.

I have to say that my wrists now ache and I am beginning to feel my age, or is it possibly just the fact that I live such a sedentary life that a wee bit of exercise feels like running a marathon.

Just had a strange thought, everyone this year has a proper snow shovel, much better at clearing fresh snow than the spades we all used last year. Thanks to C&G Hardware in School Road! They have been sold in the shops since the beginning of summer and finally we got to use them. What a difference they make.

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.

Parking on Grass Verges in Tilehurst

Excellent news from tonight’s meeting of the Traffic Managment Advisory Panel (TMAP). The meeting approved the go-ahead for a ban on verge and pavement parking along a number of roads in Tilehurst. They even accepted the additional roads suggested by the Tilehurst NAG and the Tilehurst Globe, both of which, in their different ways, have taken a keen interest in traffic issues in Tilehurst. This is the first time that such a ban is being introduced in Reading so we are all keen to see what effect it really has.

TMAP have agreed to push forward a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) that will ban verge and pavement parking along the following roads:

Westwood Road
Oak Tree Road
School Road
Recreation Road
Churhc End Lane
Lower Elmstone Drive
Brooksby Road (just the bottom end near Overdown Road)
Park Lane
Mayufair
The Meadway
Overdown Road
Norcot Road

This has been a long time coming and as a ward councillor I have received many representations from residents who want to see such a ban come in to effect. It will take a couple of months for the TRO to be published and there will be a formal consultation period before the ban (assuming it is approved) finally comes in.

We all need to take more care of grass verges and not turn them into mud patches and we all need to avoid parking on pavements where the footpath is blocked to pedestrians, mothers with prams and mobility scooters.

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.

Tilehurst Triangle – improvements for pedestrians

Last Wednesday I attended a meeting of Tilehurst Globe which discussed improvements for School Road and the area around The Triangle. The meeting was addresed by Simon Beasley, the Traffic Manager at Reading BC. Afterwards we came up with the following proposals which were agreed unanimously.

Tilehurst Globe

TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT: TILEHURST TRIANGLE

Tilehurst Globe welcomes the initiative to enhance pedestrian safety and improve the environment at Tilehurst Triangle. The Triangle is the shopping hub of Tilehurst Village and in addition to shops it also contains schools, the public library, banks, dentists and cafes. There is a history of traffic accidents with pedestrians in the Triangle and a petition has recently been presented by parents at Park Lane School asking for better pedestrian facilities.

Two other petitions have been presented to TMAP over recent years concerning the lack of a safe crossing over Westwood Road as it enters the Triangle.

The objectives of the changes are to:

1. Improve pedestrian safety.
2. Improve the environment for shoppers and traders.

Our proposals are as follows:

1. 20 mph zone from Park Lane School to the Norcot Road lights, including approximately 100 metres of Westwood Road, Corwen Rd and St Michaels Rd. The 20mph zone to be marked by road surface changes as well as signage.
2. New pedestrian crossing outside Jo-Jos Hairdressers.
3. Replace the current Pelican crossing at the chemist with a pedestrian crossing further north (towards the Norcot Road traffic lights) to better serve the pedestrian desire lines.
4. Railings at Dunstall Close and School Road up to the replacement pedestrian crossing above (to prevent illegal parking blocking School Road).
5. New pedestrian crossing 20 metres down Westwood Road from School Road.
6. New pedestrian crossing outside the Laurels/Public Library.
7. Mitigating measures against speeding through traffic in Westwood Road, Chapel Hill, Oak Tree Road and Overdown, including stopping pavement/verge parking and removing parking restrictions.

These proposals will help reduce traffic speed in the 20 mph zone along the stretch of School Road that includes the shops and schools. The impact of the new pedestrian crossings will be to slow drivers who would otherwise be tempted to put their foot on the pedal. By increasing the number of formal crossings and placing them at the desire lines, pedestrians will be encouraged to use safe crossings rather than attempting to cross the road in opposition to traffic and the pedestrian crossings will also address the needs of parents who have to make the journey between The Laurels and Park Lane Schools. The chief benefit of these changes is to improve pedestrian safety, but the reduction in speeds and the ease of road crossing will enhance the shopping experience. In addition, traffic delays will be reduced through replacing the Pelican by a pedestrian crossing, which require shorter traffic stops.

A key benefit for the schools will be the safer route between the two schools necessitating only one crossing (by JoJo’s).

These Triangle Proposals will impact a number of other roads, including Westwood, Oak Tree, Chapel Hill and Overdown Road, as through traffic may increase as some vehicles divert down these roads in order to avoid the Triangle. The measures of stopping pavement/verge parking and removing parking restrictions already proposed at TMAP will produce informal chicanes, and tend to control speeding. Mandatory chicanes and changes of road surface at specific danger points should be implemented in the future if there is negative impact of the changes in these roads or others in the area.

Potential Problems

In addition to many benefits that these proposals may bring it is fair to point out that the presence of so many zebra crossings over School Road may actually cause blockages of traffic along School Road and that by eliminating pavement parking along Westwood Road we may be causing problems for buses where cars are parked on both sides of the road.

Also, if the Triangle is seen as problematic for through traffic then drivers may well look for alternative routes (Oak Tree and Westwood roads for example) so these need to be considered.