The first festivalgoers have rolled into town this morning (23/8) with plans for thousands to hit the site throughout the week.

This has caused Reading Council to construct plans for traffic management, additional parking, and delays in Reading and in the surrounding area.

The roads and public transport will be a lot busier than usual as 105,000 people attend the five-day event.

Signage will be visible through Reading which will guide people who are driving within the town.

Below are the roads that have been closed or partially closed.

Richfield Avenue – Between its junctions with Cardiff Road and Tessa Road – from 10.30 pm to 1.00 am, on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of festival weekend.

This closure is to assist a safe exit from the festival site of the 20,000-day ticket holders, with a contingency to extend eastbound to the junction with Caversham Road (except for access) should reasons of safety necessitate.

Napier Road / Vastern Road

Roundabout will be particularly busy, with temporary traffic management utilised if required – Bank Holiday Monday, August 28.

Northbound closure of Cow Lane, between Portman Road and Cardiff Road

 This is likely to be reinstated between 8am and 3pm on the Bank Holiday Monday to help with the coach transfers and exit of service vehicles on the festival site, depending on traffic levels in this area. 

Residents have been advised to avoid driving through these areas, in addition to the areas immediately around the site and main event car parks, on the Bank Holiday Monday when festivalgoers are leaving Reading.

Trains

Due to planned industrial action on Saturday, August 26, services from Reading Station are expected to be severely disrupted (Reading Station closes from 7 pm, although it is envisaged Elizabeth Line services will still be operating). It is important that day ticket holders for Saturday plan ahead for alternative transport.

Anyone planning to attend Reading Festival on Saturday has been advised to avoid trains and find another mode of transport.

Reading Borough Council said: The Council has again worked with the festival organisers to produce travel information, made available to festival-goers and the general public, via the festival website: www.readingfestival.com/information-category/travel.

To help maintain traffic flow, the Council’s parking enforcement officers will as always be working alongside police to crack down on people who park illegally and cause an obstruction.

Throughout the duration of the festival, a temporary taxi rank will be operating in Tessa Road – opposite Rivermead Leisure Centre and next to the festival site – as a further option when traveling to and from the site.