Actrosman:
Stand up near one of the pubs one morning and i’ll give ya a wave…or you can watch the loons come flying through on the way out!
the only good pub in Reading is now gone ,The Engineers arms 
that good even the landlord trashed it once ,i moved to Hampshire to get away from the dump ,only down side theres more ■■■■■■ over here
d4c24a:
Actrosman:
Stand up near one of the pubs one morning and i’ll give ya a wave…or you can watch the loons come flying through on the way out!the only good pub in Reading is now gone ,The Engineers arms
that good even the landlord trashed it once ,i moved to Hampshire to get away from the dump ,only down side theres more ■■■■■■ over here
You’ve obviously forgotten The Tavern and The Carousel…ooh, and (when it was a pub) The Four Horseshoes (my local when the Darlows ran it)! What about The Merry Maidens up on the Shinfield Road? You aint lived mate!!
Actrosman:
d4c24a:
Actrosman:
Stand up near one of the pubs one morning and i’ll give ya a wave…or you can watch the loons come flying through on the way out!the only good pub in Reading is now gone ,The Engineers arms
that good even the landlord trashed it once ,i moved to Hampshire to get away from the dump ,only down side theres more ■■■■■■ over hereYou’ve obviously forgotten The Tavern and The Carousel…ooh, and (when it was a pub) The Four Horseshoes (my local when the Darlors ran it)! What about The Merry Maidens up on the Shinfield Road? You aint lived mate!!
they were more like yuppie bars
You drivers don’t do you selves many favors do you, someones come on here with an open mind asking why a certain type of vehicles are using a certain bit of road, might be an idea to give a good reasoned argument why there shouldnt be a HGV ban for all you know the poster might be the person who can make the desicion
Maltese Steve:
Oh. Shame. I had hoped to get a reasoned defence of HGVs using the A4074, rather than a blanket statement of sarcasm,
If the alleged 7 minute saving is that vital, or if there are other good reasons for using the A4074, would anyone else care to comment?
How about access to deliver in Reading? I certainly don’t go through to rat run; It’s a dump of a place for lorries, stop start at pointless traffic lights, but if someone is stupid enough to order 15t of sand, gravel or stone then I go there to deliver it much as I hate the place. I’d rather use the M4 and A34 with cruise control on 50; The problem is all the idiot car drivers who then yell and scream about lorries holding up traffic on the A34 going up the Ridgeway, thus a stupid no overtaking ban gets put on it.
I understand that Reading station is being rebuilt? Without lorries, how will the following get into Reading;
Aggregate, Concrete, Bricks/Blocks, Pipes, Steelwork, Timber, Asphalt, Mortar, Earthmoving plant (diggers to you)…
What makes me laugh is the car drivers complaining about being stuck in traffic with the lorries, don’t the car drivers realise they are the “traffic”
Thanks to Actrosman and AHT for their sensible replies.
Cyclsits? Yes, I could discuss cyclists. However, if I wanted to do that I’d go to a cycling forum. I don’t see the point of raising that as a question in this discussion.
I think from the replies to me so far it’s fair to conclude that the A4074 is used by truckers because it’s 10 minutes quicker than then the alternatives.
Lorries are pefectly entitled to use the route as it stands, I was questioning why it seems that it is used heavily by such vehicles when there are other recommended routes. The answer is clear: 10 minutes.
In my opinion (opinion, not fact) that’s not enough reason to leave the road unrestricted given the downsides to other road users and residents. Some years ago, the road was classified as a B road, I have no idea why it changed, but it seems to me that would be a better classification for the route known as the “13 bends of death”.
I fully accept the points about lorries being necessary methods of transport for goods being delivered to towns, and of course I don’t wish to see them blocked or hindered from doing so. See my original post, I don’t support congestion charging or LEZs. The trucking industry in this country is under massive pressure and needs to be supported and considered as an essential service. However, this doesn’t mean that due consideration shouldn’t be given to its impact on other road users, and that routes and strategies shouldn’t be planned and changes made where necessary for the wider benfit of the public. I wouldn’t seee a restriction on the 4074 as a block or hindrance to HGVs, as there are at elast two viable alternative routes available in to central Reading, routes which have actually been built and designed for heavy traffic. The A4074 is a country lane which was tarmaced in the early 20th century.
In one incident already this year, a vehicle demolished an old brick wall on the A4074 alongside St Peters Church in Caversham, a wall so close to the road that half the road had to be closed for several days for repairs to be made. This was a major inconvenience to everyone heading south towards Caversham Bridge. Not only that, the pavement at that point in the road is also very narrow and it is fortunate indeed that no-one was killed in the incident. Had they been, I’m sure that a weight restriction would have been placed on the road, however that would have been too late.
In another incident recently (late last year), a broken down lorry at the Griffin junction caused major bottlenecks through the town (the knock on effect back over the bridge is spectacular), as did a broken down lorry on Reading Bridge two weeks ago. The repercussions of lorries frequently using these bottlenecks (in my view often unnecessarily) can be very severe in terms of traffic flow in Reading, which has been, sadly, badly planned and lacking in investment in terms of roads for over 40 years now.
A little consideration might go a long way, and when those 10 minutes are not vital, perhaps truckers could consider using the motorways instead.
Perhaps a restriction will come, perhaps it won’t. In the mean time, I’d asked truckers to be as considerate as possible in using this route as little as possible, although as I’ve said I accept your right to use it whenever you see fit.
Call me a NIMBY as much as you like, but I’m trying to live and let live and look for a balance that would suit everyone.
The biggest villain in this piece isn’t truckers, cyclists or NIMBYs, but the berk who decided that the M31 should not be completed and the Thames crossing at the and of it (currently the A3290/A329M, which should have run from Caversham to the M25 at Guildford) would be shelved permanently. 
The problem is that those ten minutes saved (twenty when you are talking about there and back) can be the difference between a night out in a lorry and a night at home with the family - which would you choose? As said, the haulage industry is under immense pressure, and time is as much a pressure as cost. Ten minutes might be the difference between keeping a customer happy and losing a contact.
I have had to deliver to some pretty awful locations, what else can you do? If the shop or whatever you are delivering to is on a bottleneck/bend/narrow road and is time-sensitive, what other option is there but to get there? I have not been on the roads in question (at least not in a lorry) but its the same no matter where you go. To change down to having everything delivered by transits would be financial suicide for one thing, and would probably contribute to the recession for another…it simply does not that way.
BanburyDan:
I have had to deliver to some pretty awful locations, what else can you do? If the shop or whatever you are delivering to is on a bottleneck/bend/narrow road and is time-sensitive, what other option is there but to get there?
The thing is, with the A4074 in Reading, there are no shops nor business along that road in the section within Reading’s boundaries, and, in fact, for quite a distance to the north which would need an HGV delivery or collection. Maybe the odd farm. They’re not using the road because there’s a need, but as a convenience to reach other places which can be reached by alternative routes. The largest thing which needs to use it is a brewery dray to deliver to the Griffin pub, and that’s right down by Caversham Bridge. I’m willing to bet that there’s no heavy traffic heading past the Griffin which actually needs to use the road. It’s full of those bottlenecks, dangerous bends and narrow places which you speak of.
However, I’d be interested to hear from lorry drivers who do use the road out of a necessity, because there’s somewhere along that road which they need to access, rather than as a cut through from the M40/A34 to central Reading or the M4/A33. That might put a different complexion on things for me.
We all have opinions about other towns but an informed and coherent person has come onto the forum to put forward their views which , in my opinion, should be considered. Now can I get off this bloody soap box!
I often use this route and although it may be 10 mins quicker, I would argue that outside the hours of 8pm - 6am it is in fact much longer in terms of travelling time. Most drivers would know this. So we can possibly conclude - outside the hourly paid drivers who like to string the job out - that trucks are using that route as they will be delivering into the town or coming from the centre to get to another location.
I think the argument about broken down lorries and incidents involving walls are a bit off topic, these things happen to buses and cars and all sorts of vehicles, its just a fact of life. As long as the road does not have any restrictions I will continue to use it. As long as care is taken most roads are ‘suitable’ - I use the term carefully - for HGV’s.
I’ve spent a lot of time in and around Reading and its a busy, prosperous town and this brings with it good and bad elements of modern life, trucks being one of them. Obviously we’ll have to differ whether they are a good or evil, but what can’t be argued they are a part of modern society. Also, most trucks on the road today are far cleaner, in terms of size and weight, than most vehicles on the road.
Living on or near a busy road is never good if worried about traffic - of any sort - and one thing we can be sure of, any road is only going to get busier.
Lets not go down the route of taking too seriously half-cocked ideas from a low-grade, self-serving civil servant, the mans clearly an idiot of the first degree! Making a name for ones-self can only be good for future chamber meetings!
Maltese Steve:
BanburyDan:
I have had to deliver to some pretty awful locations, what else can you do? If the shop or whatever you are delivering to is on a bottleneck/bend/narrow road and is time-sensitive, what other option is there but to get there?The thing is, with the A4074 in Reading, there are no shops nor business along that road in the section within Reading’s boundaries, and, in fact, for quite a distance to the north which would need an HGV delivery or collection. Maybe the odd farm. They’re not using the road because there’s a need, but as a convenience to reach other places which can be reached by alternative routes. The largest thing which needs to use it is a brewery dray to deliver to the Griffin pub, and that’s right down by Caversham Bridge. I’m willing to bet that there’s no heavy traffic heading past the Griffin which actually needs to use the road. It’s full of those bottlenecks, dangerous bends and narrow places which you speak of.
However, I’d be interested to hear from lorry drivers who do use the road out of a necessity, because there’s somewhere along that road which they need to access, rather than as a cut through from the M40/A34 to central Reading or the M4/A33. That might put a different complexion on things for me.
I use this road because I’m coming from the North to deliver to Caversham and it’s the most direct route.
I drive an 18tonner.
I hope this is helpful.
Thanks, Plambert.
You say you’ll carry on using the road so long as it’s unrestricted. Which is, of course, perfectly fair. Would you be able to shed any light on why you find it better than using the motroway/A34/A404 routes, especially given your doubts around the time savings? Do you consider those advantages to outweigh the concerns of residents/other road users of and around the A4074?
Starfighter, I’d ask the same question as well. Yes, you’re delivering to Caversham and as that’s where I live I evidently understand the need to get goods here. I understand that it’s the most direct route, but is it the fastest for you, and if that’s your reason for preferring it, is it vital that you use the fastest route? Is there any other drawback to using the motorways and getting to Caversham from the south side and avoiding the 4074 other than a time saving, which is actually a moot point even in the opinion of other truckers (Plambert for instance) on here?
I’m still very much open to hearing drivers’ views on the advantages of the 4074 for them, aside from the time discussion or the “well we can use it so why not?” point. I’m sure there must be something else.
I appreciate that incidents with walls/breakdowns happen to all kinds of vehicles, but with artics the chances of it happeneing on the extreme southern stretch of the 4074 are so much more likely (those who use it must know the part I men, by St Peter’s church), and the consequences are that much more pronounced.
There is a bus service on the road, a long distance route to Oxford which mostly uses very small buses, and only runs infrequently. Reading Buses themselves have avoided using the road for many, many years as it’s not big enough for full size buses, and the traffic jam on the road are often long enough to cause timetable problems. In fact, in peak times I’d say the 10 minute saving of teh route from a trucker’s point of view goes out of the window due to the jams we get there.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying trucks (which haven’t broken down/crashed 
) are responsible for jams in any way.
Maltese Steve:
Thanks, Plambert.You say you’ll carry on using the road so long as it’s unrestricted. Which is, of course, perfectly fair. Would you be able to shed any light on why you find it better than using the motroway/A34/A404 routes, especially given your doubts around the time savings? Do you consider those advantages to outweigh the concerns of residents/other road users of and around the A4074?
Hello, as I mentioned I use the route as its the most direct route for me from the centre of town to Oxford where I live. I wouldn’t consider my use to be at the detriment of other road users or residents and certainly I wouldn’t consider using it during the day, even if I needed to go into central Reading as it would save me neither time or money - although I am not a serial user!
As you’re probably aware there are many restrictions placed on every aspect of working life and its our job to find the best way of operating in-line with these restrictions. I spend a lot of time in France and your situation would be easily rectified by the operation of a weight limit on part or on all of the road. The ‘problem’ would stop over night. However, there would need be a good reason for the limit - in France it is normally the mayor, or one of his friends, who lives on the road in question! That aside, disingenuous hot air from an ill-informed councillor is not laying down the basis for a sensible debate as to how to mange the situation. Local jobs, the local economy and the need to support them through the upgrade of local infrastructure should be the focus public servants, not wondering whether truck drivers stop for tea!
My Parish Council in the small village where I live wanted to keep a 7.5t limit on a weak railway bridge, even after it was replaced at great cost because some members didn’t want lorries ‘thundering past their house’. If they had argued there was a more suitable route to the facility on an old airfield which, I would guess, employs some 200 local people, I would had supported it. In essence the route taken from the M40 to this location is not an easy drive, but its the most direct and it just happens to pass by - not through - the village.
Out of respect I am not suggesting your case is the same but with a weight limit in-place the daily snake of cars all the way up the hill past The Warren in the morning will not change your quality of life even with a couple of trucks thrown in.
Maltese Steve:
Starfighter, I’d ask the same question as well. Yes, you’re delivering to Caversham and as that’s where I live I evidently understand the need to get goods here. I understand that it’s the most direct route, but is it the fastest for you, and if that’s your reson for preferring it, is it vital that you use the fastest route? Is there any other drawback to using the motorways and getting to Caversham from the south side and avoiding the 4074 other than a time saving, which is actually a moot point even in the opinion of other truckers (Plambert for instance) on here?
I could use the 329 through Streatley but that would be pretty much the same in terms of type of road. In terms of time it is faster than going all the way down the A34/M4 and our route is planned with the assumption that we would be using the A4074. Mind you I’m coming down at silly o’clock in the morning, if I was coming in later in the day I would probably go around, certainly when I leave I come back via the M4.
A few things that some people who know nothing of modern transport need to know.
It’s not always the size of the item, or premises it is being delivered to that dictates the vehicle size carrying it. As an example, you could order an oak chest from a company in Bristol, but it may well be sent straight from a supplier in Manchester. Would you be willing to pay the cost of a van coming just to your house and going home empty? Picture framing materials don’t weigh a lot, but are often sent in a 17 or 26 tonne truck with 30-40 drops. Many houses use bricks not local to the area and should you want need an extension in matching bricks, again they will come as a part load on a vehicle much bigger than your bit would need, the same with tiles. Display fridges for corner shops, etc, etc. The list is endless.
Now, should the NIMBY’s get their way in this, or many other cases, and the whole of Reading was made a ‘7.5t except for access’ area, let’s say a truck was bringing a 1 tonne pallet of fertiliser to the golf club at Caversham, just outside the restriction, then his next drop is Arborfield with another drop, you really think it is reasonable that the truck should have to go all the way back up to Mongeford and then via the A329 or A4130 because you don’t like trucks near where you live, because that is the reality of weight restrictions, extra traffic for those just outside the area. Let me explain this in a way that won’t cause any misunderstanding. Folks like you with their ‘Sod everyone else, I want only the best for me’, attitude make me sick! You don’t care less for the other people these restrictions will cause extra grief for, just as long as it makes your life better. Ever thought about a life in politics?
DoYouMeanMe?:
A few things that some people who know nothing of modern transport need to know.It’s not always the size of the item, or premises it is being delivered to that dictates the vehicle size carrying it. As an example, you could order an oak chest from a company in Bristol, but it may well be sent straight from a supplier in Manchester. Would you be willing to pay the cost of a van coming just to your house and going home empty? Picture framing materials don’t weigh a lot, but are often sent in a 17 or 26 tonne truck with 30-40 drops. Many houses use bricks not local to the area and should you want need an extension in matching bricks, again they will come as a part load on a vehicle much bigger than your bit would need, the same with tiles. Display fridges for corner shops, etc, etc. The list is endless.
Now, should the NIMBY’s get their way in this, or many other cases, and the whole of Reading was made a ‘7.5t except for access’ area, let’s say a truck was bringing a 1 tonne pallet of fertiliser to the golf club at Caversham, just outside the restriction, then his next drop is Arborfield with another drop, you really think it is reasonable that the truck should have to go all the way back up to Mongeford and then via the A329 or A4130 because you don’t like trucks near where you live, because that is the reality of weight restrictions, extra traffic for those just outside the area. Let me explain this in a way that won’t cause any misunderstanding. Folks like you with their ‘Sod everyone else, I want only the best for me’, attitude make me sick! You don’t care less for the other people these restrictions will cause extra grief for, just as long as it makes your life better. Ever thought about a life in politics?
Jesus wept. You’re going well over the top at me here.
I’m trying to be as reasonable as possible, and frankly, if a driver needs to drop manure at the golf club then go to Arborfield once a year, then maybe the you suggest is a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits of not having lorries crashing and blocking the bottom end of the 4074 several times over a year, casuing delays and aggravation to a far, far bigger number of people than one trucker or truck company.
And you reckon I’m being selfish.
But let’s start being reasonable again, please.
I live near the A4074, I use it every day in cars, on bikes, on foot. I consider there to be a real and present danger from HGVs using the route from my experiences using the road, and my opinion is valid and deserves due consideration. I’ve been here 20 years, and have only recently (sadly) come round to the view that there are now too many trucks causing too many problems and presenting a real threat of death on the road to other road users. I’d say that’s not exactly a “sod everyone else” viewpoint, but a well considered position based on years of ■■■■■■■■■■ experience and taken with a bit of a heavy heart. I am a car/driving and general transport enthusiast but that doesn’t mean that all vehicles should have free reign over all roads at all times.
Thanks, Plambert, for you continued reasonability. As for the councillor in Reading who is waffling on about tea stops and LEZs, tha man’s a creosoted moron. He only gets elected because there’s a few wards in Reading where Labour voting seems to be genetic, rather than based on any appreciation of candidates and policies. The man is a grade A plank and has done more damage to Reading’s roads and transport than you can imagine. I agree with just about NOTHING he ever says or does. And I don’t agree with him on this.
I merely think that a weight restriction is becoming a necessity unless truckers and truck companies ease off their use of the road and abide by the black advisory roadsigns to use the A34/M4 instead. If that was complied with by trucks not needing to deliver to locations on that road, then there would be no need for a restriction to be discussed. But I’m just not convinced it’s the case, and responses on here confirm that. It’s used as a short cut and unless drivers can justify using it for any other reason than a 10 minute saving when not delivering to business/properties on that road, then I’m finding it hard to change my mind that the advisory signs should become compulsory signs. Which I am quite prepared to do in the face of reasoned evidence and justification. Are you, DoYouMeanMe?
For anyone who doesn’t know the road, here’s the wall which got damaged (left hand side):
The northbound lane had to be closed for days to protect the blokes fixing the wall. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last time. Good job there wasn’t anyone on that excuse for a pavement when it got hit.
The problem with the road is that there’s very, very little margin of error available and the consequences of a minor lapse of judgement can be shocking.
Hi Maltese Steve,
When travelling from A to B, I will usually use the most direct route. This saves fuel.
If you were walking from A to B, which route would you take and why?
If a weight restriction was put in place, loads would have to be split onto smaller vehicles, meaning more vehicles into the town.
No business in the town will absorb the extra cost of the vehicles, so they will put prices up.
If the delivery is to an end user, the cost of the goods will be marked up accordingly to absorb the extra delivery costs.
It appears the issue here is the width of the road. How wide is a standard artic, how wide is a rigid (18/26ton) and how wide is a 7.5 tonner?
Out of curiosity, what sort of vehicle hit the wall you refer to?
Maltese Steve:
Afternoon, Ladies and Gents.I am not a trucker, however I live very close to (but not directly on) the A4074 in Reading.
Given that the signage on Caversham Bridge advises lorries to use the M4/A34 to go north, rather than the A4074, is there really any justification for lorries to continue to use that road?
If I so choose, yes. Free country in theory if not in fact. A RFL disc in the screen of each truck, insurance for each vehicle, hideous bloody fuel duty going through each vehicle (contributing to the up keep of said road) and the fact that it’s classed as an A road not a cul de sac. How’s that ?
I know that lorries can (legally speaking) use the road at the moment, but does that mean that they should?
Imho, yes.
Edit-bit harsh.
neversweat1:
From the Reading Post…Cllr Page said 50 to 70 per cent of the pollution in the borough could be attributed to heavy goods vehicles — twice that caused by cars, five to six times that of small lorries and seven or eight times that of buses.
What a prat, where did he get his information? Was it those bastions of truth at the UEA ?
I take it cow’s don’t ■■■■ near Reading these days. Maybe they only get Tank transporters passing through at 1mpg or are they including the M4 in their questionable figures?
So far the council has secured funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a mobile automatic number plate recognition vehicle which can be used to bring data up-to-date to calculate future congestion and air quality benefits.
Ooh, more big brother. What a paradise we’re building in this bankrupted ■■■■■■■■ of a country!