Progress is being made towards making one of the busiest roads in Reading safer after a number of serious crashes on the route.
Kings Road is one of the main outbound routes in Reading, sending drivers from the town centre to Cemetery Junction and the A4 London Road.
The road is a known crash black spot, with three crashes with injuries being reported at the start of this year.
The situation has been highlighted by Eleaonora Galli, whose son was seriously injured after being hit by a taxi driver who failed to stop while crossing the road in May 2021.
Reading Borough Council’s highways team has devised a scheme to make the route safer by allowing more space for drivers and other road users to turn 20-30 metres prior to the entrance of Reading College and the junctions with Kingsgate Street and Rupert Street.
The proposal will be subject to a statutory consultation, which members of the council’s traffic management sub-committee agreed at a meeting on September 10.
Councillor Richard Davies (Labour, Thames) said: “This borders on my ward and it’s definitely very much welcome, because turning off Kings Road outbound into Rupert Street and into the Orts Road estate can be like taking your life into your hands, and pulling out again.
“There are two lanes, there are buses, there are cyclists, and there’s the main carriageway, which is moving quite quickly usually to join, and it can be quite challenging to do so, I really welcome this.”
John Ennis (Labour, Southcote), lead councillor for transport, said: “Due to the number and severity of accidents along that area, officers are bound to meet with the police and other stakeholders and partners to investigate the situation.
“This is a really good, timely piece of work.
“I myself met with the police and the college and council officers, and we went out and did a site visit to have a look at the situation and worked well with the site controller and the staff at Reading College, and I thank we should thank them who have been very much open to discussions and open to ideas about the situation outside the college, it’s a complex one.”
A suggestion of a 20mph speed limit along the route was rebuffed in favour of the extra space to turn and the installation of four new signs.
Cllr Ennis said: “Safety in our town is paramount and this council takes safety as a priority.”
Rob White, leader of the Greens on the council, argued his party has long campaigned for safety measures in Kings Road.
He mentioned Crashmap.co.uk data. Between 2010 and 2020, there were five recorded fatal crashes in the stretch between Kingsgate Street and Cemetery Junction.
One of those was Harsh Dharmendra, who died aged 12 after being hit by driver Aadil Asghar in February 2012.
Cllr White (Green, Park) said: “I first got involved in this when a young schoolboy was tragically killed at the crossing near the Hope & Bear, that whole stretch is horrendous.
“You just need to look at CrashMap.co.uk, and it will show you, people are getting killed and are seriously injured on a regular basis.
“I do recognise that, whilst residents and we may have been banging our heads against a brick wall for some time, we are now seeing action so I’d like to thank cllr Ennis for that.”
However, he was not entirely confident that the council’s proposals would resolve the safety issues, suggesting more measures such as targeted 20mph speed limits and stopping right turns out of Kingsgate Street entirely.
Cllr White added: “We’ll keep on at it because I don’t think it’ll solve it fully.”
Finally, cllr Davies mentioned Adele Barnett-Ward for her work advocating for safety measures on during her time as a Thames ward councillor from 2022 to 2026.
Councillors unanimously agreed to enter into a statutory consultation into the changes, which will feature on the council’s Go Vocal citizen engagement website.
