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Station footbridge replacement branded 'tacky'

By Laura Herbert
August 28, 2012

Plans for a replacement footbridge at Wokingham railway station have been branded ‘tacky’ as fears have been raised about its appearance fitting in with the rest of Wokingham.

Network Rail, on behalf of South West Trains, has submitted plans to Wokingham Borough Council to demolish the existing footbridge linking the two platforms, and replace it with a new footbridge including two stairwells and lifts.

One woman, who lives in Oxford Road and objects to the scheme, commented online: “It’s hard to see well on the diagrams but the new design looks really unpleasing and modern.

“The current bridge might be in need of a little updating but it’s really unattractive.

“The new design looks tacky and more fitting for an inner city suburb than an historic market town.”

The footbridge is within the station linking the two platforms and not the Grade-II listed footbridge in Oxford Road which received the seal of approval from the Wokingham Society with a blue plaque in 2010 to mark places of historical significance.

Peter Must, chairman of the Wokingham Society, has also been looking into the plans but has some questions.

He said: “Is the design for the new footbridge the same as for Aldershot and Alton? If so (and even if not), there is no attempt to provide a design which is sympathetic to the surrounding neighbourhood or even to the appearance of the proposed new station buildings.

“The colouring of the cladding and support structures of the footbridge are brash and garish rather than appropriately subdued and are made worse in the drawings by the steel members being bright yellow rather than the ‘light grey colour ivory’ indicated in the text. Could a more sensitive choice of colours be offered?”

He continued: “As far as one can tell, access to the lifts from the platforms will entail the lift doors facing away from the station entrances, thus needing to effect a 180 degree turn to access them and a further 180 degree turn while in the lift itself in order to exit facing the bridge.

“The Wokingham Society whole-heartedly welcomes the intended lifts and believes that, if provided, they will be a tremendous boost to all users with mobility problems or who are encumbered with luggage. We hope the concerns we have raised can be addressed.”

To comment on the plans visit www.wokingham.gov.uk and search for planning application RAIL/2012/1648.

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Excellent work Mavdo..I too agree that it is a great step forward to have bridge with lifts and fully support Mavdo's points.. Is there any chance that the Cllrs will take any notice of this.. Cllrs pls interact with us!!!

Stig2, Wokingham
03/09/2012 at 13:42

haha thanks for the correction mavdo ;)

alex_f, Wokingham
30/08/2012 at 13:28

I think you meant "the former", alex_f, although I agree entirely with your comment as it was intended.

mavdo, Wokingham
30/08/2012 at 13:27

Indeed - given the options of having this bridge with lifts, and not, I'd certainly also choose the latter (though preferring it not to be blue and yellow), considering Network Rail can pretty much do as they please.

More questions might be asked if they blew their budgets on aesthetic customisations / revamps for each station and not on actually making stations DDA compliant.

Given the situation a couple of months ago, where we thought that those with mobility problems had to cross the track if they wanted to go to Reading, surely this is something positive?

alex_f, Wokingham
30/08/2012 at 13:26

@Nowtas - this is true, but the station is being entirely rebuilt with a new, modern station building, rerouting the road past the station and through the car park back up to Reading Road, and redoing the car park. The small house/building opposite the current station building will also be demolished and the services contained within will be relocated. If this area is already primed for a refresh, and it will be modern in appearance, why not build a modern looking bridge. If the options are (a) build it to match other bridges for cost savings, or (b) don't build it, then I'd take option (a). Making sure it isn't bright yellow and/or bright blue is a minor change.

mavdo, Wokingham
30/08/2012 at 11:11

The people of Wokingham are displeased by modernity intruding in their historic (and histrionic) Sunday market town.

Exempting the comments about the lifts, this is an argument about what the new look bridge might do to damage the appearance of an already quite ugly location. The town looks alright but the station area isn't exactly a thing of beauty.

Nowtas, West Berkshire
30/08/2012 at 10:06

And there was me thinking you had driven to all of the stations especially ;)

alex_f, Wokingham
30/08/2012 at 08:25

Travelling 1hr45 mins by train twice every day is *seriously* boring. I need something to fill the gap. And it is never going to include listening to "The door buttons are not activated" commentary from our friend Juniper Jim.

mavdo, Wokingham
29/08/2012 at 17:47

@mavdo I am seriously impressed by your commitment to this subject ;)

alex_f, Wokingham
29/08/2012 at 16:57

My report on the bridges used at Bracknell, Staines and Feltham is as follows:

- They are similar, but not identical.

- The blue colour used is dark blue, like the station name signs along the platforms.

- Other colours used are white and light grey with significant use of brick. The only bits that are yellow are on pylon feet that may be a trip hazard, or some markings around the pylons to highlight their presence to anyone walking underneath them.

There is no heavy use of yellow or bright blue as shown in the picture above, and if the colours used at these stations are also to be used at Wokingham, I would thoroughly support this. If, for some reason, the Wokingham version was instead to be painted bright yellow, or with heavy accents of brght blue, questions would have to be asked, and the colour should be reconsidered.

I would suggest that the new bridge should face the opposite direction to the current bridge as the station building is moving to the other side of the current bridge.

mavdo, Wokingham
29/08/2012 at 09:43

It was my understanding that Network Rail can do anything it likes on its own land, without requesting planning permission. It can cut down all the trees on its land; it can build electricity substations; it can extend platforms and put in new signalling; it can add overhead power cables; it can rebuild stations and extend/remove car parking spaces, as long as it is on their currently owned land. It has done all of these recently, the tree one potentially being the most controversial so far, as many a mature tree that hid the railway and/or formed a nice part of the country and greenery, were bulldozed because they might put a leaf on the track in the Autumn.

If NR can do as they please, the only reason they are asking for "permisson" for this is so they can understand public opinion in the area, and have the opportunity to listen. If the council, which in theory represents public opinion, say "paint it a different colour", or "move it 10 yards this way, they might well oblige such a simple request. If they say "don't like it, redesign it, make it of wood and carbon fibre", Network rail will either just build it anyway as it stands, or they'll build nothing at all.

I don't mind an identikit bridge. They're all very useable, don't look too bad, are proven to work and would be more easily fixed when they break if they were the same as all the rest. But let's make the colours complimentary to the surroundings rather than jumping out a mile and saying RAILWAY BRIDGE IS HERE!!! It really doesn't take much to paint it a different colour!

I will look at the stations that have such bridges tonight (Feltham, Staines and Bracknell) and see whether I would approve of their colour schemes, or if I could suggest an alternative.

mavdo, Wokingham
28/08/2012 at 16:22

Perhaps this story should more accurately be titled 'Station footbridge replacement branded 'tacky' by just one anonymous resident.'

LarryS
28/08/2012 at 15:44

@DT - PS by 'comments' I meant comments in the planning portal rather than here, apologies for confusion.

alex_f, Wokingham
28/08/2012 at 15:28

I think the overall feeling is not 'forget it, don't like the colour', but rather 'that's good, that's what we need, but could we make it prettier please?'. The first comment said 'well done' at least twice.

It's not about moving with the times; having a 70's-looking bridge in 70's colours is not 'moving with the times', and it's a bit unfair to label someone some sort of posh snob for not wanting an ugly bridge in the middle of an ancient town. it's reasonable to request a nice colour - and I suppose reasonable for the train company to decline...

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
28/08/2012 at 14:49

Even though I'm personally not too keen on the look of these designs (Ikea also came to my mind!), I have to agree with the sentiment of PoneRana and Smiffy's comments.

Just a couple of months ago, there was alot of anger towards the train station development for not considering DDA / accessibility. Now we have plans for this which is excellent news. Judging by the comments so far, and the corresponding tone of the article, you wouldn't think that. Yes the designs might not be the most visually pleasing, but perhaps there should be a little more focus on the core of the plans?