Recent Reading A33 major roadworks - why ??
Discussion
Recently the Northbound A33 between s
t Island and Rose Kiln Lane was subject to some major roadworks lasting months, including a lot of sheet piling to the earth bank on the west, realigning the pavement and carriageway. I assumed this was to make space for another bit of the planned Northbound bus lane. Must have been a multiple £000K/low £million project, and caused quite a bit of disruption to travel.But now the work has finished, there's essentially no difference to how it was before, apart from an inset bus stop at the South end of this section. There's no new bus lane, the pavement has been rebuilt as wide as it ever was, and the carriageway has a bit of a bend that wasn't there before.
I've tried looking at the A33 Major Transport Scheme information on the RBC website, and it's all rather confusing with multiple phases, but according to the plans it seems like there was supposed to be a bus lane there.
Does anyone know any more about it ?
I don't know anything about the A33 works, but I had assumed they were creating a new lane for a bus lane or whatever. Be nice if they would get rid of the ridiculous 30 zone both directions. Was bad enough as a 40. Not that I pay much heed to either 
Love the st Island reference. I worked there for a bit. Could still smell the Whitley whiff from time to time.
Love the s
t Island reference. I worked there for a bit. Could still smell the Whitley whiff from time to time. Building a secret passageway to Tony Page's car free utopia?! 
Dunno I'm afraid, that is my regular commute (Caversham -> Farnborough) but thanks to Covid I've only had to go to my office twice in 18 months.
We've got a team night out in Reading tonight, I very much suspect that my boss is being leant on from above to get us all back in the office more, so I will probably soon be dealing with the delights of this again. I can't tell you how joyous it has been to not have to do the Reading commute.
Dunno I'm afraid, that is my regular commute (Caversham -> Farnborough) but thanks to Covid I've only had to go to my office twice in 18 months.
We've got a team night out in Reading tonight, I very much suspect that my boss is being leant on from above to get us all back in the office more, so I will probably soon be dealing with the delights of this again. I can't tell you how joyous it has been to not have to do the Reading commute.
Crazy, innit?
Nothing much will change with the (non-driving) Tony Page at the helm of Transport of Reading Borough Council, and the total intransigence of South Oxfordshire/Wokingham councils over a third bridge.
I get the objections.
- Most of the peak time congestion in Reading is traffic passing through
- If you remove/reduce that, Reading flows. No need for all these bus lanes with empty buses (not) using them
- A third Thames bridge with Northern Relief Rd is a great idea in theory, but there's then a massive displacement of traffic to surrounding areas with roads ill-equipped to cope. Massive objections from those affected.
It needs the Government to take control, but given that all those surrounding Councils are Conservative then there's naff all chance of them slapping a load of new dual carriageway through lush green, expensive Tory heartlands, it just ain't gonna happen.
So we piss about and meddle with Reading roads and never solve the problems.
Nothing much will change with the (non-driving) Tony Page at the helm of Transport of Reading Borough Council, and the total intransigence of South Oxfordshire/Wokingham councils over a third bridge.
I get the objections.
- Most of the peak time congestion in Reading is traffic passing through
- If you remove/reduce that, Reading flows. No need for all these bus lanes with empty buses (not) using them
- A third Thames bridge with Northern Relief Rd is a great idea in theory, but there's then a massive displacement of traffic to surrounding areas with roads ill-equipped to cope. Massive objections from those affected.
It needs the Government to take control, but given that all those surrounding Councils are Conservative then there's naff all chance of them slapping a load of new dual carriageway through lush green, expensive Tory heartlands, it just ain't gonna happen.
So we piss about and meddle with Reading roads and never solve the problems.
PurpleTurtle said:
Crazy, innit?
Nothing much will change with the (non-driving) Tony Page at the helm of Transport of Reading Borough Council, and the total intransigence of South Oxfordshire/Wokingham councils over a third bridge.
I get the objections.
- Most of the peak time congestion in Reading is traffic passing through
- If you remove/reduce that, Reading flows. No need for all these bus lanes with empty buses (not) using them
- A third Thames bridge with Northern Relief Rd is a great idea in theory, but there's then a massive displacement of traffic to surrounding areas with roads ill-equipped to cope. Massive objections from those affected.
It needs the Government to take control, but given that all those surrounding Councils are Conservative then there's naff all chance of them slapping a load of new dual carriageway through lush green, expensive Tory heartlands, it just ain't gonna happen.
So we piss about and meddle with Reading roads and never solve the problems.
I leave just to the South of J11, and im staggered the fact we still dont have a proper bypass around reading. The traffic coming up from the A33 has nowhere to go apart from funnel down past Madeski stadium. Nothing much will change with the (non-driving) Tony Page at the helm of Transport of Reading Borough Council, and the total intransigence of South Oxfordshire/Wokingham councils over a third bridge.
I get the objections.
- Most of the peak time congestion in Reading is traffic passing through
- If you remove/reduce that, Reading flows. No need for all these bus lanes with empty buses (not) using them
- A third Thames bridge with Northern Relief Rd is a great idea in theory, but there's then a massive displacement of traffic to surrounding areas with roads ill-equipped to cope. Massive objections from those affected.
It needs the Government to take control, but given that all those surrounding Councils are Conservative then there's naff all chance of them slapping a load of new dual carriageway through lush green, expensive Tory heartlands, it just ain't gonna happen.
So we piss about and meddle with Reading roads and never solve the problems.
Challo said:
I leave just to the South of J11, and im staggered the fact we still dont have a proper bypass around reading. The traffic coming up from the A33 has nowhere to go apart from funnel down past Madeski stadium.
Ugh - one of those new Spencers Wood lot 
(Hello from Burghfield Common). The M4 is the bypass - if you're going East/West.
The A33 was the 'bypass' for Whitley - until RBC turned it in to whacky races with all the lights.
There cannot be a N/S bypass beyond and in to Oxfordshire because Oxfordshire won't allow it. They can't even build from the A3290/A329(M) in to Caversham because a finger of land in the way belongs to Oxon. There was talk at government level at one point about re-aligning the boundaries to it would go from Wokingham to Reading directly - but obviously never happened.
There are 2 north-south bypasses already (A34) and A308(M), but too much traffic elects to use the town centre and Reading/Caversham bridges instead, because the detours are a bit too far for most people to stomach (and for HGV companies to use for time/fuel reasons).
Nothing will ever change due to the LA boundary issues already outlined, and unless national government takes over, or Reading council decide to go for congestion charging and/or banning HGVs from the bridges. The former MP for Reading East, Rob Wilson, to his credit, tried to get the bridge moving at national government level, but failed. The current incumbent doesn't care and I think the local population is too inured to the issue now for it ever to be addressed, until such time as Oxfordshire allow mass housing developments on the northern edge of Caversham and then have to agree to improved infrastructure to support it.
Nothing will ever change due to the LA boundary issues already outlined, and unless national government takes over, or Reading council decide to go for congestion charging and/or banning HGVs from the bridges. The former MP for Reading East, Rob Wilson, to his credit, tried to get the bridge moving at national government level, but failed. The current incumbent doesn't care and I think the local population is too inured to the issue now for it ever to be addressed, until such time as Oxfordshire allow mass housing developments on the northern edge of Caversham and then have to agree to improved infrastructure to support it.
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