ANGRY neighbours have hit out at an ‘unnecessary’ plan to introduce speed bumps to two residential streets in Reading.
Reading Borough Council is looking to add five speed bumps to Boston Avenue and three to Shaw Road, both streets located off Berkeley Avenue in Coley.
But some neighbours have raised objections to the proposal, arguing that the speed bumps are not needed.
One resident said: “I live in Boston Avenue and I can honestly say I have never noticed or been told of a single incident of furious or dangerous driving in this street or even minor speeding.
“Nor have I heard tell of any injury or damage due to such behaviour.
“I think that any expenditure on ‘calming’ measures here is totally unwarranted.
“With public money being in such short supply I want my contribution to be spent on something more useful.”
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The neighbour went on to say speed bumps where they lived previously were installed ‘unnecessarily’.
They said: “They [the speed bumps] made no difference to drivers’ behaviour because there had been no bad behaviour in the first place.
“All they did was annoy residents by making it more difficult to park.
“I am not against humps when they might serve a purpose – such as along Wensley Road, where drivers do tend to speed, but Boston Avenue is not such a road.”
Another neighbour objected on the grounds that one of the speed bumps would be located right outside their house, which would stop them parking on the road.
They also said that Boston Avenue has ‘no problem with fast cars’ and already has a 20mph speed limit.
A fellow resident argued that cars parking close to the junction of Berkeley Avenue was a more pressing issue.
They said: “I believe a more serious issue is that cars are able to park on the west side of the Shaw Road very close to where it meets Berkeley Ave.
“This means you often get blockages as cars which are forced into the middle of the road near the junction meet with cars turning onto Shaw Road.
“I know it’s an issue because I see and hear it many times per day.
“There is excessive horn beeping there as a car turns and is met with a vehicle in the middle of the road which has nowhere to go.
“Both drivers beep at each other as they both believe they’ve done nothing wrong.”
The neighbour instead proposed extending double yellow lines to resolve that issue.
A fellow neighbour supported the introduction of the speed bumps, with the caveat that they should not replace any parking spaces and should take into account how narrow the roads are.
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The neighbours made these comments as part of a consultation into introducing the speed bumps conducted by Reading Borough Council.
The speed bumps scheme is set to be discussed at a meeting of the council’s traffic management sub-committee on Wednesday, June 14.
The committee has three options: to either implement, amend, or reject the introduction of the scheme.
The scheme has been made possible thanks to community infrastructure levy (CIL) funding obtained from developers.
The installation of the eight speed bumps would cost £49,000.
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