Trying to cross the Wokingham Road to get to Earley Station is far too dangerous. Cars speed along the road, without too many breaks in the traffic.
This is an issue that’s bugged me for a long time, particularly when I was walking my old dog. I’m sure that I’m not alone in facing it, as I often see commuters dashing across the road when leaving the station, trying to find a moment between cars to cross.
Before I was elected, I started calling for a new crossing to be built on the main road, just outside the station, so that it is more accessible and safer for everyone in our community to cross. My petition for a new crossing has been gathering momentum, and
I hope we might be able to secure enough signatures to put it to Wokingham Borough Council soon.
It’s not just commuters and dog-walkers who need a road crossing; it’s also the many school students who cross from Earley to Woodley and vice versa every day.
That’s why it’s even more worrying that since 2021, there have been 21 accidents on Wokingham Road between the junction with Wilderness Road and the Showcase Cinema Roundabout, with some of those sadly involving serious injuries. This number is too high, and
I would be interested in hearing resident’s views about how we could improve safety on this road.
Building communities that are safe to walk around and making public transport an attractive option is vital for everyone, young and old. I am really happy to hear that the rickety bridge over Earley Station and the A3290 is going to be refurbished and improved,
with the council hoping to start work on this in the coming months. That’s right – we’re finally saying goodbye to the wobbly footbridge.
Potholes are also all too common on our local roads; hitting a bad one can cost hundreds of pounds. The Government has announced £1.6 billion to fix potholes and repair roads across the country, with £1,490,000 allocated to Wokingham Borough Council, and I
am looking forward to local roads seeing the benefits of this funding.
To sign the petition for a crossing on the Wokingham Road, you can visit this website: https://www.wokinghamlabourparty.org/earley-pedestrian-crossing/ and add your name. It only takes 1500 names for the council to debate the proposal!
Yuan Yang is Labour MP for Earley & Woodley
