Latest news with #EastIlsley
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Newbury MP calls for new A34 slip road safety signs
An MP is calling for new safety signs to be put on the slip roads leading from two villages on to one of the South's busiest A roads. Lee Dillon said such signs would make the roads near East Ilsley and Beedon easier to navigate while more expensive, long-term solutions were drawn pleased that some stretches of the A34 have recently been resurfaced, the Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury said he is hoping to get a bill through Parliament to make the roads Highways, which is responsible for the road, said it takes safety very seriously. It said it expected work to make improvements on the A34 southbound, East Ilsley, which started last month, will finish on sections of safety barrier on the southbound verge area are also being upgraded, and a new section will be installed in the gap to join the existing sections together. The Newbury MP made his comments as part of a wide-ranging interview with BBC Radio Berkshire breakfast presenter Phil Mercer. He said one of the hot topics he was dealing with locally is the trialing of a longer no-go zone for vehicles wanting to drive through the town centre at Berkshire Council has banned cars from going through the town centre between 10:00 and 23:00. Previously the roads were only closed until 18: this is only a trial, Dillon said he thinks making the town centre car free for longer will make Newbury a more attractive place at he said it was ultimately for local people to decide whether the trial should become permanent or not. Dillon also talked of his frustration that the hospital where he was born world in 1983 will not be rebuilt until 2037 at the very hospital, on Craven Road in Reading, was set to be replaced under the last government's new hospitals this has been delayed as the current government says the previous plan was not affordable. A year on from being voted in, Lee Dillon, like all MPs, has a lot on his plate. An avid football fan and Friday night player himself, he says the game gives him an escape from the pressures of the he says it's important that MPs of all parties work together wherever possible to improve the country's fortunes there's at least one politician and fellow football fan he might struggle to find common ground with. For while the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is a renowned Arsenal supporter, Newbury's Dillon is a life-long Manchester United fan.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Fixing the slip roads leading onto the A34 in Berkshire
"To get onto the A34, drivers first have to make a perilous journey down what must be some of the most dangerous slip roads in England."So says the MP for Reading West and mid Berkshire, Olivia Bailey, who is calling for safety improvements to the slip roads leading from the villages of East Ilsley and Beedon on to one of the South's busiest A roads. The MP is hoping to get a bill through Parliament to make the slip roads safer. Her campaign is now moving on to its next is no guarantee the bill would become law but even if it does not get that far, it is putting the spotlight on a part of the local road network that can make even the most confident of drivers nervous. Tony Brainbrigge from Tadley contacted BBC Radio Berkshire and said that, even though he is an experienced driver, he thought the road "can be quite lethal"."I prefer to use the sliproads at quieter times but during busier times I sometimes go through Newbury to get onto the A34 instead," he said. Back in 2017 and following a safety review, National Highways introduced a series of improvements to make the A34 through Berkshire safer, including widening and resurfacing the East Ilsley slip road. It is now looking at what else it can do to improve safety on the slip roads, both there and at Beedon, but, while welcoming this, Olivia Bailey said she wanted National Highways to move faster. National Highways says it was continuing to review safety with Greg Stone, its route manager for this stretch of the A34, saying: "The A34 around East Ilsley is due to be resurfaced in the spring, whch will include the slip road, and improved safety barriers will be installed at East Ilsley."This should improve safety for road users and has been prioritised following recent incidents." Drivers who have to navigate the short slip roads onto fast moving traffic on the A34 itself have to accelerate hard to match the speed of the cars and lorries heading up the busy A road, knowing they may have to brake to a hard stop on the slip road at the last second if no gap appears. Matt Staton who's the Head of Consultancy at Agilysis Limited, a Transport and Road Safety data specialist based in Banbury, said: "My advice would be to be prepared to slow and stop if you have to on the slip road."If you're following another car down the slip road you should also be preparing for the fact that you may have to stop behind that car too."He added: "It's clear that there are challenges in joining the junction there but I think it's also worth mentioning that that type of junction would be much safer than having a T-junction or an equivalent on to that kind of road." The Reading West and mid Berkshire MP Olivia Bailey is not alone in calling for more safety improvements on the slip roads leading onto the is working closely with her fellow MP, the Newbury Liberal Democrat Lee Dillon to speed things Highways said it was listening to both the MPs' and their residents' concerns, adding that England's motorways and major A-roads are some of the safest in the world.
