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Traffic congestion warning ahead of IKEA opening




Plan extra time for journeys, council advises

IT’S 32,000 sq m, comes with a 450-seat restaurant, a crèche, a food market, 1,000 car parking spaces and lots and lots of flat-packed furniture – IKEA has finally come to West Berkshire.

IKEA Reading is due to open in Calcot today (Thursday) and is the first IKEA to open in the UK for seven years.

After a prolonged planning saga, construction of the country’s 19th IKEA store was quick, with construction officially beginning in September last year.

But its arrival will impact local road users and residents have voiced concerns over increased traffic since plans for the Pincents Lane store were first approved in 2012.

IKEA has contributed a £5m transport package in an attempt to ease the congestion at the hotly-anticipated new store.

Works included improving the junction leading from the A4 to the store and resurfacing the carriageway.

Temporary signs to guide motorists to the store from the A4 and M4 have also been erected. Painted road markings to help motorists use the correct lanes have also been put down.

But with the opening finally here, IKEA and West Berkshire Council have advised shoppers to allow plenty of time for their journeys.

Store manager Johanna Heuren said: “We will have 40 traffic guards and spotters positioned in and around our car park and at various points along Pincents Lane who will work continuously to optimise the traffic flow in and out of the store.

“In addition to this, we will maintain close contact with local police who are responsible for managing traffic on the nearby highway.”

West Berkshire Council executive for highways, Garth Simpson (Con, Cold Ash), said: “Our highways team have been planning for an increase in traffic in the area and, with a new road junction, road markings and temporary signage, there is a plan in place to minimise congestion in the area.”



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