Many of us in this chamber are parents or guardians – some with small children, some with children who are grown up, some with grandchildren. Or perhaps we’re aunties or uncles.
I’m sure all of us, at some point, have had responsibility for caring for a child. The urge to keep them safe is overwhelming. When you send a child off to school, you think that their wellbeing is guaranteed, that they’re being looked after.
So can you imagine what it must be like for your child to do something as ordinary as set off for school in the morning and not be able to make it because they’ve been injured in an accident on the way?
That’s what happened to parents of a 7 year old boy walking along Shinfield Road on his way to Crosfields School. A cyclist, overtaking a bus, collided with the boy and knocked him down. Paramedics struggled to treat him because there were so many cars on the road who insisted on trying to drive past.
Thankfully, that little boy has now recovered. But for children trying to get to Crosfields School or just to the bus or meet their friends, that road is still unsafe. It is a busy arterial road servicing the University, RBH, 3 major schools and residents in S Reading. To cross from one side to the other, people have to weave through traffic or hope that a motorist is kind enough to stop.
We can all agree, I hope, that the safety of children in our community is one of the most important responsibilities of a local authority. I raised a request for safer routes to this school, and I met the school with officers in Oct 2021 to discuss a crossing and cycle access. Parry Baath, a former Shinfield North councillor, presented a petition a year ago arguing that a pedestrian crossing would be a sensible way to keep children safe as they walk to and from school. Back in October, I raised this case in a question during a Full Council meeting. I thought that surely we can agree that this would be the right thing to do.
I was disheartened by the response from the Executive Member for Highways. “We must prioritise the locations with the highest demand”, he said, adding that other locations are “a higher priority”. When I asked if he had considered the option of trying to fund a crossing with the school, he started his reply with “accidents do happen on the highway network"
He did at least acknowledge that while he hadn’t asked the school to contribute, it would be “something that we could do in the future”.
Having now checked with the school, they have offered to contribute to a crossing. I am told this is the ONLY school in the Borough on an A road without a crossing.
This is not only about the School, local residents and employees at the Weather Forecasting Centre have to take their lives in their hands to get across the road to catch a bus or to get to homes in Earley. Many people who live within walking distance drive because they simply can’t cross safely, further increasing the traffic. I helped with the community survey, sitting for several hours in the rain by the traffic island near Wilsford close, and saw this with my own eyes. That survey was done by 24 people over a week from 7 am until 8:45 and 3 to 6, every day in freezing wet weather. Despite the weather, the 50-crossing minimum was exceeded by a significant margin. That data was given to highways.
I submitted this motion to get some action, the Traffic management team are in the process of reassessing the road again, unfortunately in February they failed to take account of the South entrance and the bus stop so I believe work is being redone.
I know that many local residents were angry and upset when the option for a crossing was so casually dismissed out of hand. This motion tonight offers a second chance to the administration to think again. This road desperately needs a crossing, and the school have offered to contribute. Act now before another person gets hurt – or worse – on this road. Put safety first, and support this motion.
