Residents raise road safety concerns at new Caversham school

The Heights Primary School was opened at Mapledurham Playing Fields in September last year.

However, neighbours have raised concerns that the school is in an inappropriate location and access to the playing fields in unsafe.

Martin Brommell, a Warren & District Residents Association member, explained: “The problem you’ve got is there is no lollipop lady, or man, to control the volume of people.

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“Groups of parents and kids are turning up, going onto the crossing, and then the next lot turn up, and the next.

“So motorists, who are now thinking about their emails, work and everything else, are edging forward on the accelerator, and we’ve seen these rear end accidents there.

“They can’t put in a pedestrian crossing because neighbours would complain of the noise.

“The island just past the entrance has been hit at least three times.

The pedestrian crossing island specially built near the access to Mapledurham Playing Fields off Upper Woodcote Road, Caversham. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

“It doesn’t sound a big issue, but parents use that to shelter halfway while they’re trying to cross the road.

“If a big lorry hits it, somebody is going to get seriously hurt.”

He also raised  issues over the Fields’ pedestrian entrance.

Mr Brommell said: “They’ve paved one side and not the other.

“The access is way too narrow. The drop kerb is too far up, so as parents walk up to the entrance, you’re almost forced to cross the kerb side but it’s a blind spot for any cars coming round.”

The neighbours pointed out that only one part of the entry road to Mapledurham Playing Fields is fit for pedestrians. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Addressing the concerns, a Reading Borough Council spokesperson explained how the school funded a zebra crossing for the majority of its catchment, who come from the south, with the current crossing island judged as acceptable to the north, where less pupils are from.

The spokesperson said: “A crossing could not be provided any closer to the school given the existing junctions and driveways.

“Since there is an existing controlled crossing near this location, we would not look to supply a school crossing patroller.

“The traffic island still falls under a one-year maintenance period with the Department for Education’s (DfE) contractor. Any defects or damage would be dealt with by them, prior to their final sign off and hand over to the council.”

The zebra crossing near Knowle Close in Caversham, which serves parents and children coming from the south. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Because the crossing is under the maintenance period, there are currently no proposals to review its design.

The spokesperson added the crossing complies with local and national standards, completing stage 1, 2 and 3 Road Safety Audits with no comments raised regarding its design or construction.

However, they said it will be reviewed once under the Council’s control.

Read the full council response below: 

They added: “The DfE designed and built the school and access from Upper Woodcote Road.

“This included widening the access road and installing footpaths to serve the school based upon its current size.

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“The Council has linked the school’s main pedestrian entrance with a path network within the playing fields.”

The paths were installed prior to school opening, allowing pedestrians from the south and west to go through the fields by foot.