Elderly scared to walk near crash blackspot Wokingham road

Six crashes have occurred at the junction of Rectory Road and Wiltshire Road in Wokingham in recent years, with cars being seen to come off the road, cross the pavement and hit railings for the Renaissance retirement homes at the junction.

Three of the six crashes occurred in the last seven months, and two of them happened in the last two months.

The issue has become so bad that elderly people are scared to walk on the pavements outside their own front doors due to the speed of traffic and the amount of crashes at the site.

That’s according to councillor Rachel Burgess (Labour, Norreys) who will raise the issue of safety at the junction at a full meeting of Wokingham Borough Council on Thursday, January 19.

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Although a petition calling for safety measures at the junction was presented to the council, cllr Burgess has argued not enough has been done.

She will raise it as a question to cllr Paul Fishwick (Liberal Democrats, Winnersh), the executive member for active travel, transport and highways.

Speaking to the local democracy reporting service, cllr Burgess said: “Lots of residents contacted me about it, they’re very worried about it.

“I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but they’re genuinely afraid to walk outside of their houses.

“There have been three very recent incidents and six in the last few years, something needs to be done before something very serious happens there.

“First of all, we need to find out the causes of the crashes. I’ve not been able to get the causes from the council or the police.

The junction of Rectory Road and Wiltshire Road near Wokingham town centre. Credit: Google Maps / Wokingham Borough Council

“We might find out better signage is needed. It’s a very sharp bend, we might ask for lower speed limits.

“But before that, the council needs to do a review of that junction and area with the police, that’s what needs to happen first.

“Then off the back of that some action needs to be taken.”

The safety of routes in Wokingham Borough are being investigated as part of the council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

However, cllr Burgess said that this work is part of a long term strategy, with the matter of safety at the junction requiring more urgent attention.

She added: “That work is very good and very welcome, but the residents are worried now and they want some action taken now so they can walk into town from their houses without feeling scared, and they should feel entitled to have a pleasant walk, rather than it being an unpleasant experience for them.”