Temporary measures put in place in the Royal Borough to support social distancing by reallocating road space for pedestrians and cyclists during the early stages of the Covid pandemic are set to be removed.
They were put in place at the end of the first lockdown in Spring 2020 as increasing numbers of pedestrians and cyclists returned to town centres to give them more space.
These have been reviewed as restrictions have now been lifted and measures that are no longer deemed required will be removed.
Measures that were for social distancing purposes, including pavement widening on Queen Street, Broadway and York Road in Maidenhead and Thames Street, High Street, Datchet Road, River Street and Thames Avenue in Windsor, will be removed in the coming weeks.
Those being retained include changes to the speed limits in both Windsor and Maidenhead from 30mph to 20mph, which will become permanent. Significant cycle parking in both Maidenhead and Windsor town centres will also retained, along with cycle lanes in Maidenhead High Street.
Town centres are continuing to recover following the phased easing of restrictions, with visitors for the year to the end of February 2022 up 146% in Maidenhead, compared to the previous year, and up 116.2% in Windsor for the same period. This increase in footfall is providing a boost to our retailers following the pandemic.
Councillor Phil Haseler, Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways & Transport, said: “This work was funded by the Government to set up temporary measures to create a safer environment for walking and cycling in congested areas, and where social distancing required changes to local infrastructure.
“This enabled people to walk and cycle while maintaining the recommended distance to limit the spread of the virus, thereby support the safe reopening of our town centres. Following a review after the lifting of restrictions nationally, and with town centres now successfully re-opened, those temporary measures that are no longer required will be removed.
“These were always intended as temporary measures, with a focus on social distancing. We remain committed to Active Travel in the borough through our Cycling Action Plan 2018. Over the course last summer, a ‘Big Conversation’ took place with residents across our borough to further develop our plans. This will be captured through a Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) which will review longer-term solutions for cycling and walking with local consultations helping us find the most appropriate solutions.”
It is the council’s intention to adopt the LCWIP as soon as possible in the new financial year, creating a roadmap of schemes for further investigation and, following public consultation, implementation to make cycling and walking safer and more appealing.