Hundreds sign petition for 20mph limit outside Thatcham school

Mother’s road safety campaign taken to district council after five-year-old daughter was almost run over

A WEST Berkshire district councillor said that he is hopeful that action will be taken to lower the speed limit outside Whitelands Park Primary School, after 541 people signed a petition.

Last week, Keith Woodhams (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) submitted the petition to West Berkshire Council, calling for urgent road safety improvements along Sagecroft Road, including a reduction in the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph.

The campaign was launched about a month ago by Thatcham parent Jennifer Hudson, of Mersey Way, after her five-year-old daughter Jocelyn was almost knocked down as they walked to the school.

Mrs Hudson said: “I am not prepared to sit back after what happened to my daughter.

“I don't know how many near-misses there have been but I just cannot leave it.

“The council needs to take more responsibility and the community needs to stand up and say we need to protect our children.

“It's a very busy road for there not to be any safety measures.”

Mr Woodhams praised the response and support from local people.

He said that the campaign had the full backing of school governors, parents and local residents, and that he was also hopeful that the district council would bring in parking restrictions and install crossing points outside the school and in Northfield Road.

He said: “The speed limit must be reduced to 20 miles per hour.

“Parking directly opposite the school needs to be restricted because it causes a dangerous traffic bottleneck and a blind spot for parents and children crossing the road.

“In addition, school crossing points must be installed.

“These are modest but significant improvements and should easily be brought into play.”

People have also voiced concerns about the speed of traffic along Northfield Road, as well as parking on the pavement outside a shop there.

Mr Woodhams said that questions had been asked over whether a 20mph limit could be extended from outside the shop to the mini roundabout with Bowling Green Road.

He added that the next step would be to arrange for a West Berkshire Council highways engineer to visit the site to witness the issues first hand, adding that he hoped this could be arranged in the new year.