A roundabout that’s not wide enough for two
Amid the understandable focus on Hochtief’s glacial progress on completing the Shinfield Relief Road, another matter relating to it has been overlooked: the design of the roundabout near to the Magpie & Parrot pub which accesses it.
If one is driving towards Shinfield from Arborfield it becomes apparent very quickly when approaching it that, although two lanes are marked on the carriageway (ahead to Shinfield and turn right for the new road), there is nowhere nearly enough room for two vehicles to negotiate the roundabout simultaneously, side-by-side.
Speculation? No, I actually tried doing so with a friend who drove behind me and, bingo, nowhere to go. This was in two average-width vehicles; imagine the scenario with commercial vehicles and buses.
Why does this matter?
Because it is going to cause delays to traffic travelling to Shinfield/Reading when the new (flood-proof?) road is finally declared open by WBC: drivers wishing to go onward will have to wait behind those turning right because they cannot manoeuvre alongside them and the latter may have to wait, in turn, for vehicles using the new road who emerge at the roundabout wishing to turn right themselves.
This is all so unnecessary, given the generous amount of land WBC had available to build this junction. Actually, it is more than that; it is incompetence and scandalous, considering the loading on this busy route into Reading and the extra that will be caused by nearby major housing development on completion.
WBC Highways Department seems to have a penchant for off-setting and narrowing approach lanes to roundabouts and junctions on already-busy roads.
Witness the roundabout on the Eversley Road leading to Arborfield Garrison New Town (not its real name but that is what it is), where one has to negotiate a very pronounced and unnecessary curve when travelling towards Eversley.
They also did similar at the junction of Bearwood and New roads in Sindlesham, where traffic is thrown together with only millimetres to spare when negotiating it. So a simple question for WBC: why are you intent on engineering delays into an already creaking network? David Williamson, via email Editor’s note – the road was delivered by Hochtief, working for the University of Reading