Huge changes could be coming to the A4 in Slough as the council moves ahead with its project to introduce a new cycle route.

The Borough Council has been devising plans for a cycle lane along the A4 since 2021.

Now, it is moving ahead with plans for a two-way off-road segregated cycle lane on the A4 Bath Road between its junctions with Huntercombe Lane and Uxbridge Road.

The cycle lane would be 2.5 metres wide for the length of the route.

In addition, the council is also seeking to make road safety improvements along the A4.

READ MORE: Slough A4 bus lanes made permanent following trial 

Establishing the cycle route and making the improvements would require changes to roads, footways, verges, bus stops, and traffic signals along the A4 to ensure safety for road users.

The council is seeking to conduct work to establish the cycle route in three phases:

  1. Phase 1: A4 Bath Road between Huntercombe Lane North and Dover Road
  2. Phase 2: A4 Bath Road: between Dover Road and Pitts Road
  3. Phase 3: A4 Bath Road, A4 High Street, A4 Wellington Street: between Pitts Road and Uxbridge Road

See details of what is proposed below:

Phase 1 

  • A dedicated cycle phase in the traffic signals, to help cyclists cross the A4 to and from the cycle route to the west (in Buckinghamshire) situated south of Bath Road.
  • Remove the eastbound bus stop layby, with buses stopping in the main traffic lane and passengers getting on and off the bus by crossing the cycle lane.
  • Add a parallel crossing at the junction with Goldsworth Way
  • Open the north side service road just east of the Huntercombe Spur roundabout to enable vehicular access
  • At the St Andrews Way / Whittle Parkway junctions, certain turns would be banned and a dedicated cycle signal crossing would be established
  • At the Elmshott Lane / Station Road junction, the crossways would be changed into a CYCLOPS’ (cycle optimised protected signals) junction
  • At the Burnham Lane and Bath Road Shopping Park junctions, an existing cycle lane would be widened and new countdown timers for pedestrians at crossings would be installed

Phase 2

  • Upgrades to existing segregated and shared cycle paths
  • At Westgate Retail Park the westbound bus stop layby would be removed, with buses stoppng in the main traffic lane
  • At the junction with Twinches Lane, the exit from the south side service road would be closed to prevent vehicles using the service road as a short cut

Phase 3 

  • At the Pitts Road junction, the existing pedestrian crossing would be upgraded to include signalised cycle crossing facilities
  • At the Three Tuns junction, certain slip road turnings would be banned, with turning lanes being reduced from two lanes to one lane.
  • At the Windmill Road / Beckwell Road junction, the existing staggered crossing would be replaced with an unbroken crossing for cyclists and pedestrians 
  • At the Ledgers Road / Stoke Poges Lane junction, an existing right turning would be banned, with drivers needing to use Montem Lane to access Ledgers Road, and a signal crossing on the east side of the junction would be removed
  • At the William Street / Stoke Road junction, countdown timers would be added to the existing signalled crossings

The council is undertaking a statutory consultation into the proposals, all of which can be found with diagrams on its website.

You can give your views on any of the proposals by emailing TransportPlanning@slough.gov.uk , or in writing to A4 Cycle Route Consultation – Response, Transport, Slough Borough Council, Observatory House, 25 Windsor Road, Slough SL1 2EL.

The consultation closes on September 24.