A local councillor has admitted that an “accident hotspot” roundabout, which has seen over 70 crashes in the past 25 years, had not been identified as an issue, as the incidents had happened at “multiple locations around the elongated roundabout”, until a cyclist was killed.
Cyclist James Sullivan was fatally injured in a collision with the driver of a Hyundai i20 on August 29.
This led concerned resident Peter Wheat to bring the issue of the large number of collisions at Shepards Hill Roundabout, Reading, to Wokingham Borough Council at a full council meeting, reports The Reading Chronicle.
Cllr Betteridge, the executive member for active travel, transport and highways, said: “These occurred at multiple locations around the elongated roundabout and had not in previous reviews identified a cluster requiring priority attention.
“However, in the light of the tragic incident and having discussed the general situation at the roundabout with you and officers, officers will look again at what changes could be made in the area, both at specific locations and in general.
“Changes which mitigate collisions in this area will be considered.”
He explained that proposals for changes to junctions are drawn up following analysis of police data, which shows 10 reported crashes in the vicinity of the Shepards Hills roundabout over the last five years.
The roundabout has seen over 70 incidents between 1999 and 2023, according to crashmap.co.uk.
“During the time I have lived near Shepards Hill Roundabout, London Road, on the edge of Woodley, there have been 77 accidents, including seven serious accidents,” said Peter Wheat.
“What is the council doing to improve public road safety at this accident hotspot?”
Councillor Adrian Betteridge, the executive member for active travel, transport and highways, said: “We should not accept the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads, in the country as a whole or in Wokingham.
“Road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are more vulnerable and are harmed more disproportionately.
“The police are investigating the collision, and council officers will work with the Police to understand the causes and any contributory factors.
“I cannot talk about that incident more at this stage, other than to express my heartfelt condolences and those of the council, to the family and friends of the deceased.”
James Sullivan died in the hospital due to his injuries several days after the collision.
A 24-year-old man was initially arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving, but was later released on police bail.
2 thoughts on “Councillor admits that “accident hotspot” roundabout had not been identified as needing “priority attention” until cyclist killed”
So a local council is not
So a local council is not aware of accidents or statistics in their borough – THAT’S WORRYING!
Alas since we don’t have a
Alas since we don’t have a “systemic safety” approach * (we have bits and pieces) this is not so surprising.
Also the local political / official bureaucratic institutional feedback loops and rules ** have been more formed around prioritising motor capacity. And the “safety” part has been playing catch-up after the fact of facilitating motor-aided economics (goods getting about, plus widening the supply of self-delivering employees).
* Long-form here https://robertweetman.wordpress.com/2021/11/20/rethinking-road-safety-part-1/
.. and how it is applied in one country here:
** For “how the feedback loops could be different” see here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b4ya3V-s4I0&t=600