There is no safe place to cross Upper Redlands Road between the school gates of St. Joseph’s College and Alexandra Road. This creates a dangerous situation for pupils from St. Joseph's College and Redlands Primary School as well as students from the University of Reading.

We know that the local community supports the creation of a crossing facility. However, it is costly to put in place and Reading Borough Council's limited budget does not enable it to finance the crossing on its own*.

We are therefore raising contributions from the community. St. Joseph's College has already pledged a contribution towards this project and discussions are underway with the University of Reading also.

With this JustGiving Page, we are inviting donations from anyone in the local community who would like to do so. Any contributions, no matter how small, will have an impact and will increase the likelihood of this crossing becoming a reality.

Whatever we manage to raise will be presented to the Council for consideration. Should they decide to not put a crossing in place, all private donations will be refunded. It is important you understand, however, that we have no control over the time it may take the Council to reach a conclusion on the crossing.

Several designs are being considered, including a traditional zebra crossing (approx. £50,000) or converted speed bumps with bollards (approx. £15,000 plus design fees. An example is shown in the photo above). The community will have a chance to input on the Council's proposal via a public consultation, which will review the best design and location for the crossing as well as the impact on traffic flow and parking.

We hope you will donate to this worthwhile cause and if you know of any local businesses who would be willing to support it too, please get in touch!

Getting a crossing facility in this area will make it safer for those already walking and cycling to school and should encourage more parents to let their children walk to school, knowing they can reach it safely. This in turn will mean less cars in the area and therefore less carbon emissions. Any step, no matter how small, towards helping Reading Borough Council become carbon neutral by 2030 is a useful one.

So whether your motivation to donate is driven by safety or climate change or both, know that your contribution is meaningful and will have a large impact locally and a small impact globally.

Thank you

Press:

BBC Radio Berkshire (20 Apr 2019)

Reading Chronicle (17 Apr 2019)

The Whitley Pump (6 Apr 2019)

Reading Chronicle (29 Oct 2018)

The Whitley Pump (19 Oct 2018)

Links:

* Reading Borough Council's Traffic Management Sub-Committee (12 Sep 2018 from 1:40 to 1:53)