Wokingham Safer Roads

16/06/2026

...and if you want to know why Reading remains one of the least welcoming and dangerous places to cycle, some of the comments on the original BBC post provide a depressing insight.

Safer roads start when we recognise that those outside a vehicle deserve protection, not hostility.

Reading is the most dangerous place for cyclists, outside of London, new analysis shows.🫣
Find out more here: https://bbc.in/4xqVG0N

16/06/2026

Great to see family rides being offered at the Wokingham Bikeathon. Keep up the great work and keep pushing for safer roads! 👏👏👏

🚴‍♀️ Family Ride at Wokingham Bikeathon Sunday 28th June

🚴‍♂️ Led by the Kidical Mass organisers

We’re delighted to once again be running our popular family ride for little legs and big smiles!

🌟 Meet at the Bikeathon Field for a 10am start

🚲 No sign-up required – just turn up and ride!

🦺 Fully led and marshalled route

👶 1-mile ride for balance bikers

🚴 2.5-mile ride

💪 4-mile ride for children who fancy a bit more of a challenge

🚲 All bikes welcome! Cargo bikes, tandems, recumbents, trikes, stabilisers, tag-alongs, trailers and child seats are all encouraged.

🎉 Not just for children – everyone is welcome to join in.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Children remain the responsibility of their parents or carers at all times.

🏃‍♀️ And a friendly reminder to parents… you’ll need to keep up

13/06/2026

🚫 Please stop parking on pavements. 🚫

Like many areas, pavement parking has become so normalised in Wokingham that it’s now expected rather than questioned.

The result is that people with pushchairs, prams, wheelchairs, and mobility aids are routinely forced into the road just to get past.

What should be a straightforward walk turns into a slalom up onto kerbs, back into the carriageway, weaving between parked cars and moving traffic, often with limited visibility and very little space.

Pavements are not optional extras for car drivers. They exist to keep vulnerable road users separated from traffic.

When they’re blocked, it doesn’t just cause inconvenience, it actively pushes people into danger.

This isn’t about isolated inconsiderate parking anymore. It’s about a pattern of behaviour that’s become so normalised, and the safety implications that come with it.

We are very much looking forward to the Local Authority having improved powers later this year to tackle this issue.

13/06/2026

It's great to see Community Speedwatch operating on Rectory Road. The fact that one driver was caught doing nearly 50mph demonstrates that concerns about speeding aren't just perception, they are real.

When people dismiss Speedwatch as unnecessary, this is exactly the sort of behaviour that shows why it has a role. Most drivers stick to the limit, but it only takes a small number travelling at excessive speeds to create a serious risk for everyone else using the road.

Even in good conditions, at 50 mph, a driver will typically travel about 53 metres before coming to a stop. That's roughly 13 car lengths or just over half the length of a football pitch.

Absolutely ridiculous why any driver thinks that is an acceptable speed to drive in our community but as we know it's an all too common occurrence.

Delighted to report that the vast majority of the 700+ drivers who passed us on Rectory Road were driving respectfully this afternoon. Even the three cyclists were behaving themselves ;-) .

Driving respecfully isn't just about obeying the speed limit and safety. it is about reducing the impact of car speeds on pedestrians and people who live here.

We also appeared on Waze - which is a good thing. The more drivers think about their speed, the better.

There were a few bad drivers. The worse was doing 47mph (in this 30) as he approached the junction. He, and a few others, will shortly be getting a letter from TVP reminding of the need to stick to the speed limit.

Time well spent with Norreys ward colleagues Cllr Rachel Burgess and Cllr Nagi Nagella .

12/06/2026

🚶‍♀️🚴 [Supposedly] Big boost for walking and cycling in England... [and sadly why it isn't that big a deal]

The UK Government is officially unveiling it's new Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3) today, backed by £4.5 billion over five years to make active travel safer, easier and more accessible.

The strategy sets ambitious targets for 2035, including:

✅ 60% of children walking, cycling or wheeling to school.
✅ 55% of shorter urban journeys involving walking, cycling or wheeling.
✅ 5,000 new walking and cycling routes by 2030.
✅ 10,000 new crossings near schools and communities to improve safety.

The plan also introduces a major expansion of simpler zebra crossings, alongside more low-speed streets and safer routes designed to encourage everyday active travel. Government ministers say the investment will help improve public health, reduce congestion, cut emissions and create more people-friendly neighbourhoods.

This marks the first major update to England's active travel policy since the previous cycling and walking strategy and responds to calls for clearer targets and long-term investment.

However, as promising as CWIS3 sounds, the more we look at it here at Wokingham Safer Roads, the less impressive it becomes...

The £4.5 billion is not all new, ring-fenced active travel money. The government is counting a range of transport funding streams that can be used to support walking, wheeling and cycling between 2026 and 2030. Some of the pre-existing funding steams include Active Travel England, Transport for Cities Fund, Local Transport Grants, and Strategic Local Funding).

As a result, the headline £4.5 billion active travel spend appears to be a calculated share of these broader transport budgets rather than £4.5 billion of entirely new money specifically earmarked for cycling and walking. It is important to note that previous CWIS strategies used a similar accounting approach as well though.

So are we in the same situation as before with only £1 out of £100 of the transport budget being allocated to active travel? Potentially...

The big emphasis again on schools and active travel is great, but 4 in 5 child casualties on our roads happen away from school areas, so purely focusing on school areas is not going to implement the huge changes to KSI reduction needed.

We need better and safer streets EVERYWHERE and that requires huge investment.

Please do not get us wrong, we support all the above measures and it's better than nothing and certainly better than some political parties attempts to cut active travel funding.

Once again though it's barely enough to cover the vast UK network and create meaningful change. Huge investment is needed and that cost will continue to increase year on year until we wake up and realise what the Dutch created in the 80's was the right approach to safer roads and healthier societies.

🚲🚶‍♂️🌱

06/06/2026

Like many areas, Wokingham seems to be filling up with ever-larger SUVs and luxury 4x4s, many of which appear completely disproportionate to the task they're actually being used for.

School runs. Supermarket trips. Urban commuting.

Yet some of these vehicles are so large that they barely fit in standard parking bays. We've all seen them taking up two spaces, hanging over pavements, or parked in ways that make life harder for everyone else.

Then there are the illegal number plates, tinted covers, and other modifications that seem designed to avoid accountability rather than improve safety.

Of course, it would be wrong to judge every owner of a large SUV. Plenty drive responsibly and have legitimate reasons for owning one.

But it's hard to ignore the pattern many people experience on the road. When you encounter someone speeding, sitting inches from the bumper in front, scrolling on a phone, forcing their way through traffic, or driving with complete impatience, it often seems to be behind the wheel of one of these oversized luxury vehicles.

Maybe that's perception. Maybe it's because they're more noticeable. But it's a question worth asking.

What's not really up for debate is the safety issue. Higher bonnets and taller front ends reduce visibility, especially for children and people directly in front of the vehicle. When collisions do occur, the consequences can be more severe simply because of the size, weight and shape of these vehicles. No surprise that sadly, head trauma in children from road collisions is on the increase.

Road transport should be about getting from A to B safely. Instead, some vehicles seem designed to project status, dominance and entitlement.

The bigger question is whether our streets should be designed around what is safest and most practical for everyone, or around an arms race of ever-larger vehicles that make roads, parking and public spaces worse for everyone else...

Make your own punchlines 🙄
Wokingham.

04/06/2026

Wokingham Borough Council are seeking views on a proposed 30mph speed limit around the Shepherds Hill roundabout, covering sections of the A4 London Road and the outskirts of Woodley and Sonning.

As an independent organisation, we strongly support this consultation. Given the roundabout's history, the proposal is particularly significant and poignant to us.

We are aware of 10 collisions at this location over the past five years. Many residents will also remember the tragic death of James Sullivan, a father of two, who was killed while cycling here last August.

The proposed reduction from 40mph to 30mph would have little to no impact on journey times for motorists, but it has the potential to significantly improve safety and reduce the severity and outcome of future collisions.

The consultation closes on 18th June 2026, so please take a few moments to have your say and support these changes.

https://engage.wokingham.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/proposed-30mph-limit-for-london-road-and-shepherds-hill-woodley

In summary, the proposal would replace the existing 40mph limit on parts of London Road and Shepherds Hill with a 30mph limit, bringing the speed restriction more in line with the street lighting and character of the area.

31/05/2026

For us, the main concern in the 2025 Great Britain Provisional Stats is the KSI change by user group.

Whilst the KSI rate reduces in car occupants, just look at the casualty increase in vulnerable road users.

Of course there are a substantial amount of variables to infer and unpick from the statistics. However, unless we take drastic action, we continue to sleep- walk into the same scenario of 30,000 people being killed or seriously injured every year on our roads.

That's a whole stadium, every year!

We believe this all linked back to following undeniable issues:

🚩 Motor-normativity culture in the UK is out of control even within the judicial system, local councils and police.

🚩Vehicles are getting ridiculously big for their intended purpose. Speed and mass is everything in collisions.

🚩Vehicle safety technology is improving but people still remain squishy.

🚩We are not doing enough to encourage active travel and protect vulnerable road users.

🚩With the increased volume of traffic and more in-car distractions such as mobile phones, there needs to be better enforcement and punishment against dangerous driving. Instant ban for mobile phone and drink/drug offences.

🚩Substantial culture change is needed. There is too much anger and impatience on our roads. Driving is not a right, it is a privilege by licence. The opportunity to accrue 12 points and still plead hardship is pathetic. The laws are so out-dated.

30/05/2026

The provisional 2025 GB road safety statistics have landed and they present a mixed picture but exactly what we have been seeing at local level.

While road fatalities fell by 3% to 1,556 deaths, the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) INCREASED by 4% to 29,911. Overall casualties remained broadly unchanged at 127,870.

This highlights a concerning trend: fewer people are losing their lives (in cars) but serious injuries continue to rise amongst pedestrians and cyclists.

Particular attention should be paid to vulnerable road users. Motorcyclist fatalities increased by 13% to 384 deaths, marking the second consecutive annual rise.

Pedal cyclist casualties rose by 10% to more than 16,000, while pedestrian casualties also increased.

E-scooter collisions continue to be a growing concern, with 1,484 reported casualties and 10 fatalities recorded in 2025.

The data also reinforces long-standing demographic patterns, with men accounting for 77% of fatalities and 61% of all casualties.

Young adults aged 17–29 remain disproportionately represented in casualty figures, while older road users continue to account for an increasing share of fatalities.

These statistics underline why the UK's new Road Safety Strategy is so important. The challenge is no longer simply reducing deaths; it is preventing life-changing injuries and creating a transport system that protects all road users, particularly those most exposed to risk.

Limited progress has been made over the last decade, and the latest figures show there is still significant work to do. Safer road design, improved vehicle technology, targeted enforcement, behavioural change initiatives and better protection for vulnerable road users must remain central to future road safety efforts.

Every statistic represents a person, a family and a community affected by a road collision. The goal must remain clear: reducing both fatalities and serious injuries, not just one or the other.

At local level in Wokingham, there's so much more to do.

We need to embrace safer speed limits across the Borough. We cannot prioritise convenience over safety any longer.
Side zebra crossings should be rolled out on every residential street.
More speed cameras and average speeds cameras are required.
We need to stop buying ridiculous size SUVs to do the school run.
We need to help and support people using buses, trains, bicycles and other safer walking and wheeling alternatives.
We need to call out dangerous drivers, and stop turning a blind eye to those dangerously parked, those speeding and taking unnecessary risks.
More resource, enforcement and promotion from TVP is needed.
More roadside spot checks and blockades for drink/drug drivers.
More undercover surveillance and reporting.
AI cameras should be introduced to catch the distracted phone drivers in known hotspots.
Better road maintenance including cycle lanes and pavements.
Proper high-quality, joined up active travel infrastructure needs to be installed, swept regularly and markings renewed regularly.

It's time to end motor-normativity and stop the 30,000 stadium full of KSI people every single year. Very few are "accidents" they are mostly avoidable collisions.

Thames Valley Police Matthew Barber