Tree Planting To Accompany Residential Pavement Improvements

A comprehensive three-year project to improve up to a third of Reading’s roads and footways for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers has restarted this week, with two of the roads having footways resurfaced benefiting from trees being planted as part of the scheme.

31 roads have been announced to be completely resurfaced this spring, a second phase after 32 were resurfaced last autumn to begin Reading Borough Council’s £9m commitment to road and pavement improvement work. The scheme will see up to a third of Reading’s roads completely resurfaced by the end of 2023.

Two of the roads having pavements resurfaced, Blandford Road and Bourne Avenue, are having new trees planted during their works, with four planted in Blandford Road on Tuesday 2 March. The Council’s Highway team are carrying out the pavement resurfacing programme with the Parks team installing appropriate trees. The Council will continue to look for opportunities to plant trees where they can safely install them as part of the pavement resurfacing programme.

Hundreds more roads across Reading will benefit from surfacing improvements taking place over the next two years in response to residents’ calls for better roads. A Citizens Panel survey conducted by the Council in November 2018 revealed that over 50% of respondents listed ‘better roads and pavements’ as top of their lists for improvements, and the Council has responded with the biggest programme of resurfacing it has ever undertaken.

Cllr Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said: “This is the biggest programme of residential road and pavement resurfacing the Council has ever undertaken and is a direct response to calls from residents for better roads across the borough. The planting of trees is a great additional benefit that the scheme can bring which supports our carbon reduction and bio-diversity ambitions”.

The spring phase of the road improvement scheme will be undertaken by the Council’s contractor Eurovia Infrastructure Ltd. Advance notice boards will go up on the roads to be resurfaced and residents will receive a letter 2-3 days before the work is carried out. Roads will be closed between 8am and 5pm for the improvements to safely take place, with cars needing to vacate the roads in advance. Any parked vehicles will be liable for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and will be removed. After a 1-2 week period when the roads will seem rough and gravelly whilst they are left to settle, the roads will be closed again so the contractor can return to sweep the road and paint the road markings on the new surface, leaving smooth new residential road surfaces across the borough.

The 31 roads to be resurfaced in the spring 2021 phase of the scheme, listed by ward, are:

Abbey

• Baker Street
• Prince’s Street
• Lynmouth Road
• Sackville Street
• Sun Street

Battle

• Alma Street
• Cambridge Street

Caversham

• Piggott’s Road

Church

• Barnsdale Road
• Poplar Gardens

Katesgrove

• Edgehill Street
• Elgar Road South
• Clent Road

Kentwood

• Cranbourne Gardens
• Hartslock Way
• Honiton Road
• Torrington Road
• Modbury Gardens

Minster

• Boston Avenue
• Castle Crescent

Norcot / Southcote / Tilehurst

• New Lane Hill

Park

Manchester Road (parking areas only)

Peppard

• Eric Avenue
• Cavendish Road

Redlands

• Denmark Road
• Canterbury Road

Thames

• Peppard Road (service road in front of 13 – 45)
• Newlands Avenue
• Haldane Road

Tilehurst

• Crescent Road

Whitley

• Chagford Road