I attended the Council consultation about this road today, held at Cantley House Hotel.For all interested there is an on line version on Wokingham Borough’s website (Search NWDR) and printed versions available from the Borough offices.
I stressed the need for more road capacity soon to deal with the chronic congestion problems, as well as the need to look after safety and control noise close to homes.
I pointed out that the Council is in discussion with the government about a strategic local road network with my encouragement. They have identified the A329 as well as the A329 M and the A 3290 as potential strategic highways eligible to apply for more government money for expansion and improvement.
I suggested they should decide if they wish to make the new Winnersh bypass and the Northern Distributor Road the new principal through road or if the A329 is to retain this status, as this will impact on the nature and design of the road. It seems likely cyclists for example will often prefer the A329 as it is the shorter through route with slower vehicle traffic than the new road.
There needs to be careful consideration given to keeping pedestrians and cyclists apart from vehicles to reduce accidents, and to a maximum road width to allow for large vehicles. Junctions should be roundabouts, not light sets. The flood defences need to be good as the route chosen goes through areas prone to flooding. The engineering needs to ensure there are no adverse knock on effects of flooding to nearby properties.
June 19, 2018
Have never understood why the Northern route does not connect directly to the A329 M at either the A321, or the Warren House Road route, thus getting traffic from the north of the Town, out and away, or in on this major route without having to circumnavigate the Town, or add congestion onto an already busy and overloaded A329 Reading Road.
Both above suggestions already cross the A329M with bridges.
Seems like a huge opportunity lost, or never seen, even though it has been mentioned to the Council on endless occasions.
I see Planning not yet granted, and proposed finish date is sometime after 2021.
I really would have thought the Council would have got their act together way before this, and set out an entire route for planning (start to finish) and not do it on a bit by bit (section by section) application basis.
In the meantime more chaos.
I hope the roundabouts at bell Foundary lane are going to be large enough to accommodate large commercial vehicles, unlike the Arborfield cross roundabout which had to be modified after construction, when it was noted that articulated lorries could not turn around the tight bends into some of the roads coming off the roundabout.
June 25, 2018
How will the Northern Distributor road be faster when it passes through the middle of multiple of new housing estates and older estates, and will have multiple roundabouts with plenty of corners. Require safe crossing provision for the younger and older population that can’t have a car license.
Unless they demolish the new housing their is not room for a dual carriageway, or ability to put in underpasses on the new housing estates. Essentially it appears they are building the road after the horses have bolted essentially building single carriage link road between the new estates.
There appears to be no provision for enforcing speed limits through the built up areas so these will become rat runners until we get significant pedestrian/car connections that requires visits to RBH.
‘if they wish to make the new Winnersh bypass and the Northern Distributor Road the new principal through road or if the A329 is to retain this status, as this will impact on the nature and design of the road. It seems likely cyclists for example will often prefer the A329 as it is the shorter through route with slower vehicle traffic than the new road.’