Trees, Footpaths and Grass Cutting
At the first meeting of the Caversham Park Residents' Association, it was identified that the issue of trees, clearance of footpaths and cutting of grass on public land should be addressed initally.
Caversham Park Village was built to deliberately separate pedestrians from vehicles. That is why Caversham Park Village has a far more extensive network of footpaths than most housing estates.
Over the years, hedges, trees and bushes have encroached upon these footpaths which makes pedestrian access to areas of the Village unnecessarily awkward and the Residents' Association felt this should be addressed.
Also, Reading Borough Council have agreed that grass cutting on public land has been reduced to six cuts per year. Given the current need to trim public expenditure, some may argue that grass cutting is not as important as other public expenditure whereas some would say that it gets too long and devalues an area. Sp what is your point of view? Have a think about it and check back to this site. We will shortly publish an e-mail address that you can send your views to and we would love to hear from you.
More information will be posted here as the issue progresses, though please do get in touch if you feel that you have something to contribute. Particularly if you are aware of a location where footpaths are obstructed.
Bus Services from Lowfield Road to Caversham Centre
At the first meeting of the Caversham Park Residents' Association, one talking point was that of public transport.
One suggestion was made was to provide a link from Lowfield Road to Caversham centre. At present, the circular bus routes provide a link to Caversham centre though only from Caversham Park Road. This may be alright if you are actively mobile though the nature of Caversham Park Village and its location within the Borough means that Reading Transport serve the Village as they currently do. We used to have routes 21, 25, 51, 52, 53 and close by the 54. Before the 25, Alder Valley used to serve the lower end of the Village (occasionally!).
If you have any comments to make regading the provision of buses to the Village (including those of you who don't use buses and would like to tell us why), please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Alternatively, call Steve Bell on Reading 326 9259.
Lowfield Road Traffic
At the first meeting of the Caversham Park Residents' Association, one issue identified for discussion was the levels and types of traffic on Lowfield Road. This included the speed of traffic (given that Lowfield Road has householders' driveways exiting directly onto the road whereas Caversham Park Road does not) as well as the type of traffic using the road (heavy goods vehicles using the road because of the chicanes on Caversham Park Road and the tight turning for vehicles from Sonning Common making the turn into Kiln Road impossible)).
Reading Borough Council conducted a survey some years ago which led to the Local Area Enhancement plan which has already provided some improvements including the mini-roundabout at the junction of Peppard Road and Buckingham Drive (next to The Pond, by the top shops) as well as the replacement of the zebra crossing at the same location with a puffin crossing (yes, there is such a thing - it is NOT a pelican crossing!).
Plans have been mooted to improve the junction of Caversham Park Road, Kiln Road and Peppard Road, the removal of the chicanes along Caversham Park Road and the introduction of a weight limit on Lowfield Road (remember the residents' driveways exiting onto Lowfield Road!) to push heavy traffic down Caversham Park Road instead. At a cost of approximately £250,000 it is not an insignificant sum and the money needs to be found from somewhere or you Council Tax goes up! But together we can make a louder voice that indiviual voices can make!
So what are your views on traffic along Lowfield Road? Please check back to this page in the next week or two and we'll provide an e-mail address for you to send your views to. We really do want to hear what you have to say! In the meantime, please call Steve Bell on Reading 326 9259 with any comments.