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PREPARATORY work to improve safety at a junction where a cyclist died seven years ago is continuing.
In March 2017, student Ben Pedley was involved in a collision with a pedestrian, causing a severe traumatic brain injury, at the crossroads near the Three Tuns pub. It straddles the Reading/Wokingham border and links Church Road with Wokingham Road.
The 26-year-old University of Reading student, known as Ben, was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital, but he died two days later.
Since then, Park ward Green party councillor, and now leader of the opposition, has been calling for action to be taken to improve safety of the junction and avoid any future accident.
In November 2021, we reported that work was due to start in January 2022, but this has been delayed.
An initial report for Wokingham Borough Council was produced by consultations WSP in August 2018. It looked at accidents at the junction between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2017.
It noted that there were seven, of which four occurred between 2016 and 2017, and six of them took place on Church Road.
In 2016, Wokingham Borough Council said that it would conduct a public consultation into how the junction can be made safer for pedestrians.
One of the problems is narrow footpaths due to the proximity of housing to the kerbside.
Green councillors in Reading’s Park ward – of which the Three Tuns area belongs – are frustrated that the process is taking so long.
Councillor Rob White – now leader of the main opposition party on Reading Borough Council – said: “For a number of years we have been lobbying Wokingham Borough Council to provide a crossing for Church Road at the Three Tuns crossroads over to the Co-op.
“There have been some serious accidents here and we think a pedestrian crossing would help improve road safety.
“Green councillors will keep working on road safety and for a fairer, greener and cleaner town.”
Wokingham Borough Council’s executive member for active travel, transport and highways, Councillor Paul Fishwick, said work was ongoing.
“We are continuing to look at changes to the junction that would give us the ability to introduce a formal controlled crossing on Church Lane,” he said.
“This junction is very close to the boundary with Reading and we are working with Reading Borough Council on a design for the junction that will work for both sides of the borough boundary.
“Following a recent meeting with our colleagues at Reading Borough Council to discuss options, a new variation has been identified that is currently being modelled to ensure the impact of traffic is minimised on both sides of the borough boundary while also providing additional pedestrian facilities.”
