Road set for closures to improve school safety

Reading already has several School Streets, including Crescent Road

A road is set to temporarily close on weekdays to improve safety for families walking to three schools.

More than 950 children attend Geoffrey Field Junior School, Geoffrey Field Infant School and Christ the King Roman Catholic Primary School in Reading, Berkshire.

The schools, families and Reading Borough Council want to make Exbourne Road, which serves the schools, into a School Street.

The Exbourne Road School Street is set to be created at a meeting of Reading Borough Council’s traffic management sub-committee later.

Exbourne Road serves three schools

The plan would close the road to traffic between 08:20 GMT and 09:05 for morning drop-off and between 14:50 and 15:30 for afternoon pick-up on weekdays, during term time only.

The School Street would be staffed by volunteers who would implement the closures and steward parents, guardians and children to and from school.

The committee is also being asked to allow the Civitas School Street scheme in Great Knollys Street to begin at 14:50 in the afternoon ahead of its expected implementation on Monday 24 June.