Construction of a new park and ride, and expansion of another in Wokingham borough are set to begin, with nearly £10million being invested in the facilities.
Work is to start on the new Coppid Beech Park and Ride in Wokingham and adding an additional decked floor to the Winnersh Triangle Park and Ride will start next month (February), said the council.
Winnersh Triangle is estimated to cost £6.8million, while the Coppid Beech project will see about £3million invested.
Both are being supported with a £6.6million injection from Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Local Growth Deal with Government, which backs both plans to create better sustainable transport infrastructure in the area. It also helps the council towards its goal of a carbon neutral borough by 2030.
“We’re investing in infrastructure across the borough and both these park and ride projects have been backed with significant funding due to the benefits they will bring,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport.
“These projects are part of our work to accelerate the reduction of congestion on key transport routes across the borough. The links with existing bus services mean our residents will be able to travel easily to where they want to go in an environmentally responsible way.”
Bob Mountain, vice chair of the Berkshire Local Transport Body added: “We are delighted that these schemes are now underway and that the contribution from the LEP’s Local Growth Fund will help ease congestion for commuters and residents in the Wokingham and Bracknell area.”
Work on Coppid Beech, with construction carried out by AH Willis, should be finished near the end of 2021/start of 2022.
The Winnersh project, overseen by our Wokingham Highways Alliance partners VolkerHighways, expects to be finished in early 2022.
Both projects link up to existing bus routes, with Winnersh also linking up to the Winnersh Triangle train station. They will help residents to travel around the borough as well as into other nearby towns such as Reading and Bracknell. Also, both projects are including significant investment in electric vehicle charging points, to further help the borough on its journey to carbon neutrality.
