Action needed on A308 before another accident

After fears were expressed six months ago following the shocking near-fatal collision of a car and a young cyclist at the Mill Lane Roundabout, last week a teenager was hit by a vehicle on the nearby zebra crossing in Maidenhead Road, causing widespread consternation among residents throughout the area.

Our children and I used this crossing on a near-daily basis as part of the route to and from their primary school in Datchet.

At the start of that period, Maidenhead Road at this junction still included two east-bound lanes.

Walking across the zebra stripes was a challenge as cars often moved across our path whilst we were making our way to the north side of the road.

After pressure from local residents, the ‘middle’ lane was repainted with hatching to remove it from regular use and the resulting single lane initially made crossing easier and more reliably safe.

However, in the intervening 20 years, continued development both within and outside of the immediate environs has inevitably led to rising traffic volume and speed along this stretch of the A308.

A data-collecting traffic sign installed after the accident in September has recorded on the order of 900,000+ vehicles travelling over this crossing.

The speeds of around 85 per cent of these appear to have been below 35mph, but in the last 60 days, one was recorded at 80mph.

The RBWM Cycling Action Plan (2018-28) recommended a lighted toucan crossing for this location – one of four ‘High Priority’ schemes, out of a total of 19 identified for Windsor, scoring ‘High’ on both PCT (Propensity to Cycle Tool) and safety impacts and scheduled for delivery in 2018/19.

We are hopeful RBWM will not delay in taking remedial action to address this crossing and surrounding road and traffic context – the situation could not be more urgent. This was ‘an accident waiting to happen’.

Every responsible measure must be taken to avoid the likelihood of another one.

S SHEARER Bailey Close Windsor