‘Don’t just change the batteries, fix them!’ Residents want lights action
IT’S NOW on to its third prime minister, outlasted a lettuce and constantly runs out of juice. But there’s still no end in sight to the temporary traffic lights in east Reading.
In July and October, Reading Today reported on delays to replace lights at the junction of Cholmeley Road as it comes on to London Road – one of the main routes out of the town, heading towards the A329m.
Damaged in a road traffic incident last year, the temporary replacements have been snarling up traffic, seeing it back up into Cemetery Junction and the Sutton Seeds roundabout. It’s a situation made worse by the works to repaint the railway bridge, as traffic is down to a single lane on London Road, with many additional delays.
The works were meant to be completed by October – but the temporary lights are still there nine months on.
Newtown residents are considering organising a birthday party if the lights are still in place in the summer, and given that the bridge works will continue until May, that could possibly happen.
The temporary lights are powered by batteries, which constantly fail. When Reading Today visited the site on Monday, they were not working and a team had to manually stop traffic to let drivers out.
Residents say the lights run out of power at weekends, meaning drivers have to make their own judgment as to whether it is safe to exit Newtown.
And the pedestrian crossing that helps people get to the bus stop on the other side of London Road is not in use, despite passengers getting on and off the Orange-route vehicles.
Resident Laura Blackburn said: “The biggest problem is nobody knows what’s going on. You can’t rely on it working. You can’t cross the road from the bus stop. It’s stopping people from using buses and people are more likely to use their cars.
“Drivers can be stuck here for 15 minutes until someone bothers to let you out, especially because of the bridge lights further down. It’s dangerous.”
She also felt the lights wasn’t set up properly.
“It’s holding the traffic up even further at a time when everyone is just so stressed. People are rat running much more, trying to avoid Newtown. It’s causing knock-on problems all over the area.”
Ms Blackburn called on the council to give a solid timeline for the lights to be fixed.
Last autumn, Reading Borough Council said the broken lights used an old-style controller which had been destroyed, and a like-for-like replacement was no longer available. It was not compatible with newer models.
The only solution is a complete replacement of the junction’s equipment, including clearing ducts and replacing damaged cables.
In October, Reading Borough Council said groundworks had been completed, and it was chasing the contractor to provide a date for the repairs, promising to update residents when that happened.
Green Councillor Rob White is both leader of the main opposition party on Reading Borough Council and Park ward member, and he wants action.
He said: “The temporary traffic lights at the top of Cholmeley Road are an ongoing source of frustration to residents and ward councillors. They have been broken for around eight months now which is ridiculous.
“The batteries often fail creating problems for people crossing London Road and cars getting out of Newtown. The timing on them also seems to be creating extra congestion and worsening pollution.
“The council needs to pull out all the stops to get these lights fixed and if the current contractors aren’t up to the job the council should be looking elsewhere.”
The council had not responded to requests for comment as we went to press.