Wokingham Area Access Group have received a complaint concerning the new Oakley estate which was built just a few years ago on the old Wokingham football ground, opposite Tesco. It's been reported, that blind and disabled people , along with young children , now living on the estate have problems accessing TESCO on the other side of the main road, because there is no pedestrian crossing there.

Candy who is blind ,takes her life in her hands every day just so that she can go shopping in TESCO. The nearest crossing is at Molly Millers Lane some 200 meters away from the estate. For Candy, it might as well be on the other side of moon. Why, because she has to go under the railway bridge at Molly Millers Lane , just to get to the that crossing, Candy has further problems to overcome. There is no footpath under the bridge on her side of the road and that means she has to walk in the middle of the main road, against oncoming traffic . What makes it more dangerous is that oncoming traffic encounter reduced visibility as they drive under the bridge. A risky route for a pedestrian just to get to the safety of a pedestrian crossing . To get back home she has to do it all again, as she has to go back under that same bridge, but on the other side of the road . All this to get to TESCO, which is just 50 yard from where she started .

BUT WHY. - Candy and the others are living on a brand new estate , yet they are unable to go about their business in safety, Had the planners included disabled people and young families in the planning process, then this would not of happened, as they would of seen this problem coming . So why didn't the council see it?.

Then there's the government policy on climate change . They ask us to stop using our cars for short journeys, yet Wokingham Borough Council are forcing people to go just a few yards via the safest means to cross that road , and for most that is the car . If your are blind or disabled and cannot cross a road easily ,it means some body else has to drive from their home just to pick you up , go shopping and take you home again . That means more carbon footprint, just because the planners did not think about access to the nearest shop, for those who are disabled,or have young children,or young families with pushchairs ,and live at home during the day and only have one car ,or no car at all . Those people need a crossing there.

WAAG have been in talks with the council ,and have written to Councillor Baker who is the Wokingham Borough Councils Executive member for highways and transport, He has kindly passed on our concerns to Julia Tredwell of the Highways Dept ,Julia has also written to us giving us an assurances that they will make a full evaluation of this problem.

If you live on the estate or are having problems crossing the main road from the estate please contact us via the contact us page on this web site with your experiences.

written by David Anderson MBE, WAAG Secretary, 15/03/2008

Visit the WAAG news archive to catch up on all WAAG news



Site created by Longshot Developments 2007