School Road Traffic Count

As part of the campaign to prevent over-development of School Road, members of the Village Society have carried out a traffic count on School Road to assess the number of traffic movements at specific times of the day.

The information has been sent to Wokingham District Council in support of the Village Society's letter asking the Development Control committee to refuse the planning application for 25 new homes to be built where there are currently four.

The count was carried out on April 23 and 25 - a Tuesday and Thursday - between the hours of 7.30am and 9.30am, 2.45pm and 3.45pm, and 5.00pm and 6.00pm. Monitors were positioned at the School Road pond close to the junction with Wokingham Road, and outside the Village Hall - beyond the junction with Tape Lane.

More than 200 movements an hour

The results indicate that at the busiest period, between 7.45am and 8.00am, there were 348 traffic movements an hour. Indeed, during the periods surveyed, traffic movements were in excess of 200 an hour between 7.30am and 9.15am, 3.15pm and 3.45pm, and from 5.00pm and 6.00pm.

These times, of course, overlap with the periods when children are being taken to and picked up from St. Nicholas Primary School and the road reduced to a single carriageway.

It should be also noted that, if anything, the traffic on School Road was probably lower during the survey period than other school days as the Year 6 children were absent for the week.

Consultation extended

Wokingham District Council extended the consultation period for the proposed development by Millgate Homes on land at Ashington, Tumbleweed, Rose Vale and Mufulira to the end of May because of the large scale of the plans.

The application is expected to be considered at a Development Control meeting in July or August, when members of the Village Society will present the traffic count results and ask the committee to refuse the plans.