Hope for action on A4 speeding
KILN GREEN: Campaigners for better road safety along a busy stretch of Berkshire’s A4 are hoping that a soon-to-be published speed survey will encourage authorities to ‘take action’.
Residents living along parts of the A4 between Hare Hatch and Kiln Green have been monitoring speed levels in recent months, concluding that more than 50 per cent of road users are speeding near their homes.
In response to these concerns and a series of complaints raised by the group known as ‘A4
Action’, Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) has conducted a speed survey which will help them determine if new road safety measures are needed.
Cllr Paul Fishwick, executive member for active travel, transport and highways, said: “The A4 is one of the borough’s busiest through-roads, with the section at Hare Hatch seeing over 16,000 vehicles a day pass through.
“Drivers tend to keep the speed limit and the road has a good safety record and a lower risk of collision than other A-roads in the borough.
“However, we do know that some drivers exceed the speed limit there. Residents raised concerns about it with us, and we commissioned an independent review of speed limits on the A4. We are reviewing the results of the study, and will use these as part of discussions with Thames Valley Police about possible changes to speed limits and the need for enforcement action.”
Simon Chapman, spokesperson for the A4 Action group, hopes that the survey will result in change and highlights the first thing to address would be lowering speed limits and making them more consistent.
“Both local traffic authorities seem to have accepted that the inconsistent speed limit on the A4 – 40mph in Hare Hatch, 50mph in Kiln Green – is contributing to the speeding problem in Hare Hatch so it seems possible that a constant speed limit will be applied on the A4 one day,” he said.
“Given the frequent accidents and the fact that the government’s speed limit guidance for all villages is 30mph, we can even dare to dream that the new limit through Hare Hatch and Kiln Green will be 30mph.”
Mr Chapman is hoping the new appointment of WBC’s assistant director of highways and transport, Chris Easton, will bring ‘a greater sense of service to the community’.