New Inn Hall St

New Inn Hall Street is a short connecting road between George Street and Queen Street that has recently been attractively resurfaced, for instance with brick paviours instead of kerbs. It is part of national cycle route 5, connecting Reading to Holyhead. Streets, such as New Inn Hall Street, can often be clogged with delivery vehicles in contravention of loading regulations.

This causes local pollution and is to the detriment of pedestrians and cyclists. A survey of people’s perspectives together with a review of options will identify potential solutions. This survey looked at the south end of New Inn Hall Street with particular reference to the problem of delivery vans using the cul-de-sac to deliver to premises in Queen St, Bonn Sq and New Inn Hall Street itself.

Our project found that there is inadequate enforcement of the restricted delivery period at the southern end of New Inn Hall Street. As a result, the road is often blocked by vans delivering to shops in the Bonn Square-Queen Street area. This creates a less pleasant environment for the many walkers and cyclists using New Inn Hall Street. The needs of the shop-keepers vary (e.g. two deliveries of milk a day), as does the ability of the suppliers to respond to set delivery hours. The present no-loading period is from 10.30am-5.30pm, Monday – Saturday, and is likely to be increased to 7am-7pm under the proposals for a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) that are due to come into force in December 2020. This will definitely require strong enforcement if it is to be effective. Clear, advance warning is needed to enable suppliers and shop-keepers to prepare in time.

There are 10 disabled parking spaces in the middle of New Inn Hall Street that are well-used. Under the ZEZ, after 2024, blue-badge users in polluting cars will have to pay to enter the zone, to get to the car parks. The City Council has not clarified the plans for disabled drivers and these parking spaces.

Read full report here