It is good news that Wokingham Marketplace is now open again. People are welcome to come to enjoy the restaurants, cafes, street life and shops. It is good that the roads near the Town Hall are back in use and you can now get to the shops without detours and pavement restrictions. I look forward to the arrival of additional retailers to fill the new shops that are nearing completion on the old Rose Street car park site.
Do you like the new Town centre? I would welcome feedback for the Council on this matter. Do come and gave a look and see how good the shops, restaurants, cafes and facilities are.
October 6, 2018
J, Look forward to you setting up a little business or providing some venture capital for whomever…I suppose a lifelong career politician distances his/herself from such trivial activity though?
p.s. There was a good piece in BrexitCent by now Lord Lilley – the chequers deceit? Do you personally have any comment to make on it? Again it points to Robbins being in the Brexit driving seat so to speak?
Reply I have set up and run businesses in the past but am a bit busy now
October 7, 2018
J, So you should be as Brexit beckons and let’s hope that we are able to leave on 29/03 deal or no deal. I hear that our rock musicians have sent a open letter saying their poor revenues will be affected and they wont be able to travel freely to the EU? I’m told I was a dim wit leaver but this is really scraping the remoaner barrel!!
I listen to classical and my Mum bought me a rattle when I was kid which was a real stretch for her then. Poor poor musicians me thinks…
October 7, 2018
Well what can one say after so much time, so much disruption.
Original idea was good, but implementation of works simply shocking.
Wider paved area’s good, more open walking/community space good, lower curbs good.
I would suggest the paved areas are far, far too light in colour, and the loading and waiting areas should also have been completed with tarmac instead of using similar light coloured blocks as the paving, as oil drips, tyre marks on a light surface will look very tatty in a couple of years time.
Road tarmac should have been taken right up to the kerb edge to outline in a much clearer manner the kerb edges, which many people seem to have tripped up.
The crossing humps should also be in tarmac, again to highlight the presence of a road. Have seen many kiddies and adults just walking across without looking, thinking its just part of the paved area.
Is the paving going to continue along Denmark street ?
Is the paving going to continue along Peach Street?
The original pathways in both areas, now quite dangerous, and looks quite bizarre against the completely different market Square.
Seems that a huge amount of money has been spent on very expensive materials when something similar to that used for the paving outside of the new Station would have been perfectly acceptable, a better colour too.
Reply Thanks for considered remarks.I will pass these on. I have asked for a system of cleaning the very light paving as there are bad tyre and drink/food spills marks already.
October 15, 2018
Given you have asked for feedback John.
Have noticed more and more Pedestrian crossings when modified/installed now, do not show a green light facing those using the crossing on the opposite side of the road, thus after you have started crossing, there is no visual notification that it is still safe to do so, in your direction of travel.
There are green lights at waist level facing sideways, (which can be blocked out by people waiting) there is a green light at halfway, but again it faces sideways and is at waist height, but no light at a higher level at the end of your proposed direction of travel.
Thus the green cross code taught for decades and generations is a waste of time.
Also there appears to be a large delay from pressing the button, to the actual crossing stopping traffic, in many cases people have crossed when there is a lull in traffic flow before the crossing lights work. you then have the silly situation of the lights then working, stopping the traffic, when pedestrians have already crossed and no one is waiting any more.
In addition when the lights do stop traffic we now get a beeping sound for only a very short time to show the crossing can be used, but it stops when even an able-bodied person is only halfway across, let alone someone who is disabled with mobility problems, then with no green light to be seen, the person crossing can become confused, can they still continue safely or not.
Why this new system, what on earth was wrong with the old system where high level visible green lights could be seen from start to finish.
This is not progress, and certainly confuses many people, certainly young kiddies, as I have witnessed many times.
Situation not too bad on a narrow single carriageway, but on a double carriageway confusion to many.