A CALL has been made to improve an ‘extremely dangerous’ stretch of road near Caversham.
Last month, a petition was launched by a Caversham resident calling for the layout of the junction, which is close to the entrance of the lakes, to be urgently reviewed following a number of collisions.
The four-way junction joins Henley Road, Caversham Park Road and the marina Access Road together, with the last of these leading to the Caversham Lakes watersports destination.
But neighbours say the junction is not safe, with Candi Hall, a mother of two small children, setting up a petition which has received more than 520 signatures calling for a safety review.
She called it a “hotspot for road traffic accidents and near misses”, saying there have been a number of collisions this year.
Ms Hall referred to a case on Tuesday, September 13, when a motorcyclist needed medical attention following an incident.
She presented her petition to Reading Borough Council’s traffic management subcommittee earlier this month.
A petition response from Liz Bradbury said: “I have seen many confused, impatient, fast drivers trying to pull out of Caversham Lakes and the marina when it isn’t safe to do so.
“It just isn’t clear enough. I have three teenagers, one who will be driving very soon, who I’ll be terrified for when negotiating this type of junction.
“Please help to keep everyone safe, the risk is just not worth it.”
Ms Hall said: “Local people are frightened, and we urge you to take quick action to help us keep our community safe.”
She acknowledged there were limited official reports of crashes but provided anecdotal evidence of collisions in recent years.
Crashmap.co.uk shows four slight incidents recorded at the junction, with two each being in 2018 and 2019.
However, petitioners gave anecdotal evidence of a series of incidents this year.
Supporting the petition, Cllr Clarence Mitchell (Conservative, Emmer Green) said: “While the stats would suggest the problem is not as acute as local people are saying, I know who I believe.
“And I would much rather listen to the collective voice of those who have signed the petition and expressed their concern online.
“Surely, we should not wait for the accident tally to reach the level that it needs to before action can be taken.
“We could look at a cost effective solution, at least some redesign or signage that would perhaps be cheaper.
“It’s clear that this is an extremely dangerous junction, something needs to be done.”
The junction is on the borough boundary with South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC).
Councillors unanimously agreed to recommended actions, which involves Reading highways officers engaging with SODC and monitor police supplied casualty data for any emerging patterns.
Cllr Tony Page lead councillor for transport (Labour, Abbey) asked petitioners to also ‘bring pressure to bear’ on SODC and Oxfordshire County Council for safety reviews as well.
Retrospective planning approval for Caversham Lakes was rejected by SODC in part because of road safety concerns.
Reading councillors agreed to respond to any future planning applications submitted for Caversham Lakes to address neighbour concerns about road safety.
