Thank you to everyone who has given their input on the three active travel schemes so far.Earlier this week we launched another consultation, this time looking at our local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP) for the borough, as well as a plan specifically for Wokingham town centre.Residents, local businesses and visitors are being invited to give feedback on any issues that are currently discouraging or preventing them from choosing to walk or cycle when traveling around the borough. Equally, the council would like to hear about any opportunities for improving the streets in the borough for walking and cycling.The aim is to determine where best to focus future investment in active travel infrastructure to support walking and cycling across the area. This might include providing new cycle routes, improving footways and crossings, creating &#39;school streets&#39; or reducing the impact of through-traffic in local neighbourhoods.To help shape the walking and cycling network across the borough visit <a href="https://wokinghamlcwip.commonplace.is/">wokinghamlcwip.commonplace.is</a> where you will have the opportunity to leave your thoughts and opinions.This platform provides an interactive map where you can place a &#39;pin&#39; on any location in the borough and leave specific comments. This is open until 18 April

Have your say on walking and cycling

Plans to improve cycling facilities outside Wokingham town centre and linking Woodley and Earley to Reading are being drawn up. It comes after Wokingham Borough Council was awarded £576,650 towards improvements to cycling and walking facilities in these areas by the Department for Transport.Earlier this year the council bid for the funding as part of the Government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund, with these three areas selected as potential projects. They have been earmarked for new cycling infrastructure as they link up with the existing cycle network in the borough and/or other areas on the edge of the borough.More on potential projectsThe potential projects the council wants residents’ views on are:<li>Earley/Reading active travel route (scheme one) – A4 London Road and potential link to Thames Valley Park/Reading Borough boundary</li> <li>Woodley/Reading active travel route (scheme two) – Woodley town centre, Woodlands Avenue, Church Road, Culver Lane/Anderson Avenue to the Reading Borough boundary</li> <li>Wokingham town centre/A329 London Road active travel route (scheme three) – A329 London Road, Seaford Road, Goodchild Road/Wescott Road, Easthampstead Road, Denton Road, Luckley Path</li>The council has been awarded 95 per cent of the funding it applied for and is aiming to start work on one of these projects as soon as it can. Our consultation with residents on the principle of these facilities runs until 26 March. We continue to look to provide walking and cycling infrastructure improvements to help the borough towards its goal of carbon neutral by 2030.&quot;Making cycling easier in our borough&quot; “We want to make cycling easier in our borough without disrupting other road and footpath users,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport. “Designs are being drawn up for potential infrastructure to do just that on routes into Wokingham town and linking Woodley and Earley to Reading. The locations where these schemes are proposed link up well with existing cycling infrastructure but we want to hear residents’ views on this. “We believe improvements at any of these locations would allow us to provide high quality segregated routes, making it safer to cycle and encouraging even more residents to get on their bikes.”Next stepsDetailed plans on the projects we are looking at will be consulted on later this year. Although these projects may not all be delivered straight away, we are gathering feedback on them now as we look to fund future projects to continually improve the borough’s cycling facilities.It follows £76,000 awarded to the council to create temporary walking and cycling facilities in 2020 to help make walking and cycling in the borough easier, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.The council will publish the consultation feedback summary later in the spring and show how it has informed the detailed design of these projects. Further updates will be provided later this year on which project will be built and when this will happen.

Your views on new cycling facilities

Wokingham Borough Council has secured funding from the Government's Active Travel Fund. This presents an opportunity to develop and implement some new infrastructure to support walking and cycling in the borough.