Slough's controversial A4 bus and cycle lanes to stay

The scheme introduced in Slough during the Covid-19 pandemic will stay following a council vote

A controversial bus and cycle lane scheme along a section of the A4 in Berkshire has been made permanent.

It was introduced by Slough Borough Council in 2020 to help cyclists and pedestrians to socially distance during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to encourage active and sustainable travel.

About 8,000 people signed petitions calling for the £90,000 government-funded scheme to be scrapped.

But senior councillors have made a unanimous final decision to keep it.

Financed by the government's emergency active travel fund, the scheme was introduced under experimental traffic regulation orders.

It was initially permitted to run for up to 18 months, with a six-month consultation period.

Electric vehicles with authorised green number plates can also use the lanes on the A4, between the Dover Road and Uxbridge Road junctions, at any time.

The permanent bus lanes will remain operational at peak times only, between 07:00 and 10:00 GMT and between 15:00 and 19:00, Monday to Friday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The Labour council's leader, James Swindlehurst, said: "When I joined the council, people often only had one or two cars on their drive.

"Now all those people's children have got cars as well and we're talking five cars for a property."

He added: "A part of this process has to be about providing a little bit of disincentive to hop in your car because it's the easiest thing you can do."

Council officers found air quality along the A4 had improved, but could not say for certain it was a result of the bus lanes, LDRS reported.

Officers also found that while the lanes had improved bus timings, they had contributed to an increase in motorists' journey times by almost three minutes - but they did not believe this was significant enough to warrant their removal.

Conservative councillor Dexter Smith said the decision should be delayed until the council had accurate data.

He said: "I think you should defer taking the decision here until you look at why it is other councils - Leeds City Council, Retherm Town Council, Southend City Council - are all removing their bus lanes due to air quality."