Housing and roads

Whilst I share the concerns at the increasing number of homes being built and the effects on our roads, we must appreciate that the borough is building a number of major feeder or distributor roads; use whatever phrase you like but

they are there to ease congestion.

Specifically in your front page article on October 4, it claimed that 1,000 extra car would be using Finchampstead Road at peak times in the Tesco area.

What many people fail to take account of is that much of the existing traffic is not going to or from Wokingham but trying to go round Wokingham. By using the Southern Distributor Road (SDR) this will not mean in itself an increase in traffic around Tesco, but will make the town centre and the shopping area much clearer of traffic, with obvious benefits. Also it provides a clearer, faster and safer route for traffic to and from the A329(M), Bracknell etc.

In addition the SDR will enable HGVs, travelling from the east or A329(M), to access the Molly Millars commercial area without, as currently, going through the town centre.

At the moment they have to travel through the town on Peach Street and Broad Street, down Station Road, over the station level crossings and then weave themselves along the narrow Barkham Road to get to Molly Millars; not ideal for them or the town centre.

The SDR will provide a quicker route avoiding the town centre.

So all these schemes must be reviewed in the round, which is what the borough council did before embarking on developing these new roads.

I only hope they are all built as quickly as possible. Cllr Angus Ross, Wokingham Borough Council