Speed capture trial at Wargrave's crossroads

Traffic campaigners in Wargrave are hoping they are a step closer to a safer village with the loan of a SID (speed indicator device) from Charvil Parish Council.

It will capture the speed and record the number of passing vehicles through Wargrave’s four-way, traffic light controlled, village centre.

To date, the SID has been successful in reducing the number of speeding vehicles in Charvil and other parishes.

The idea was put into place following a call by campaigners to ‘Stop the Red Light Jumpers’.

Speeding has been a concern for almost a decade now in the village, with campaigners worried by the number of collisions and near misses reported over the past 12 months.

The group ramped-up its campaign earlier this year after noticing an increasing number of vehicles ‘jumping’ the red lights, often at speed. Fearing accidents, they approached Wokingham Borough Council and Thames Valley Police in the hope cameras, signs and speed traps could be used as deterrents.

But according to campaign spokesperson Chris Cordrey, too much time has passed with not enough action, which is why the campaigners turned to Wargrave Parish Council to ask for a SID trial.

He said: “We are a concerned group of residents who are passionate about reducing the speed on all approaches to Wargrave. Our two main focus points are the speed of cars and lorries approaching from Twyford, and the repeated occurrence of cars, lorries and bikes jumping the red lights.”

Miranda Parker, clerk to Charvil Parish Council, said their SID had helped reduce speeding in the village.

“We bought the SID in about 2017, after borrowing one from Hurst to see the extent of the speeding problem in the village. We believe it does slow the traffic down as most people respond positively to getting the ‘smiley face’, but there is a significant minority who choose to ignore it – so around 85 per cent of people will drive at 36 mph or less, but the remaining 15 per cent travel way too fast for most of the roads in Charvil where we have put it.

“It also measures the numbers of car movements, and this has provided useful insights into the increased numbers of vehicles driving through Charvil.”

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “We have engaged with our partners to initiate and have discussed the possibility of installing enforcement cameras at red lights.

“We remain committed to deploying officers to these areas to stop the red light jumpers

in Twyford, Hurst and

Wargrave.”