20 Mph Speed Limits in Middlesbrough

Home , Berwick Hills, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough Council, Tollesby

20 mph Speed Limits in Middlesbrough

Rob Farnham

Principal Engineer, Parking and Traffic Engineering Middlesbrough Council Background

• ‘Best ever’ casualty totals in 2010: ten-year targets achieved, with KSI casualties reducing from 85 in 2003 to 30 in 2010 - and no fatalities. • Desire to maintain downward momentum in future years despite major cuts in capital and revenue funding. KSI Casualties, 1994-98 to 2010: Target v. Actual

40 Casualties

0 1994-98 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Target 65 63 60 58 56 54 52 50 48 45 43 41 39 Actual 65 67 81 81 74 85 56 63 65 41 47 38 30 Year Child KSI Casualties, 1994-98 to 2010: Target v. Actual

15 Casualties 10

0 1994-98 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Target 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 15 14 13 12 11 Actual 22 21 18 9 20 13 12 12 12 3 13 13 3 Year Slight Casualties, 1994-98 to 2010: Target v. Actual

800

700

600

500

400 Casualties

300

200

100

0 1994-98 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Target 693 687 681 675 670 664 658 652 646 641 635 629 623 Actual 693 568 660 570 586 529 536 472 420 406 418 375 393 Year Why 20 mph Speed Limits? • Traditional 20 mph zones – with physical traffic calming measures – already introduced in residential areas with high numbers of casualties. • Further 20 mph zones expensive to introduce, not cost effective and unpopular. • Experience elsewhere in the UK (in particular Portsmouth) showed that area-wide 20 mph speed limits – without traffic calming measures – could be effective in reducing speeds and casualties in residential areas. How do Area-Wide 20 mph Speed Limits Work? • By changing drivers’ attitude towards speed in residential areas – and, therefore, their behaviour. • Introducing a 20 mph speed limit on an individual road or a single estate has only a marginal effect on vehicle speeds. • However, adopting an area-wide or ‘blanket’ approach is much more effective, as 20 mph effectively becomes the ‘default’ speed limit in residential areas across the Borough. Scheme Development

• Atkins commissioned to carry out study into feasibility of area-wide 20 mph speed limits in Middlesbrough in February 2010. • Consultation held in May 2010 with Community Council ‘Cluster Groups’ on principle of area-wide 20 mph speed limits – general support for proposal. • Principle of area-wide 20 mph speed limits adopted by Council in February 2011, based on a prioritised, three-year implementation programme.

Middlesbrough 20mph Limits - RevC ATKINS Proposal 2010 Licence Number: LA100023413

A47 A49 A11

A01 M03 A10 M01 M02 M07

A08 A48 M08 A46

M04 A09

M09 A06 M10 M05 A02 A03 A05 M11 A07 A16 A17 A15 A04

A45 M06 A14 A44 A13

A12-A

A12-B A21

A23 A18 M12 A20 A19 A22

A36

M14 A30 A35 A28

A27 A34 A37 A38 A29 A24 A33

A26 A31 A32 M13 A25 A43

A41

A39

A42 KEY A40

ExistingExisting -- 20mph20mph zonezone withwith traffictraffic calmingcalming

ExistingExisting -- traffictraffic calmedcalmed highwayhighway excludingexcluding 20mph20mph areaarea

Atkins proposed - 20mph limit areas Scheme Principles

• 20 mph speed limits introduced on roads primarily residential in nature. • 30 mph (or higher) speed limit retained on principal and distributor roads, with a maximum ‘drop’ of 20 mph when entering roads covered by a 20 mph speed limit. • Debate regarding residential roads that also act as local distributors – should the speed limit be 20 mph or 30 mph?

Consultation

• Given the scale of the scheme, not practical to consult individual residents. • All 25 Community Councils within Middlesbrough consulted on the proposed 20 mph speed limits within their area. Strong support for the proposals, with 24 out of 25 voting in favour. • Extensive coverage in local media, in particular the ‘Evening Gazette’. Legal Process

• Two Traffic Regulation Orders advertised, covering a total of 1,365 streets. • Notices placed in ‘Evening Gazette’ and on Council website. No statutory requirement to post notices on site. • A total of four objections received, all for first Order. All four objections overruled by the Executive Member for Streetscene Services and Transport. Implementation Programme

• Scheme originally programmed for implementation over three years. However, additional funding subsequently made available to reduce programme from three years to two. • Implementation of Phase 1 – covering 678 streets in Acklam, Beechwood, Berwick Hills, Brookfield, Easterside, Linthorpe, North Ormesby, Park End and Tollesby – carried out between January and July 2012, with official launch on 10 July 2012. Implementation Programme (2)

• Implementation of Phase 2 – covering the remaining 687 streets, including all of the residential areas across the south of the Borough including Coulby Newham, Hemlington, Marton and Nunthorpe – commenced in March 2013 and is currently ongoing. • Works programmed for completion by the end of May 2013. • All works carried out by Streetscene, the Council’s in-house contractor.

Signing and Road Markings

• ‘Gateway’ treatment at entry points, comprising a pair of terminal signs and a roundel on the carriageway, similar to the approach adopted in Portsmouth. • 20 mph repeater signs erected at approximately 200 metre intervals on roads covered by the new limits, making use of existing lighting columns to reduce street ‘clutter’. • No legal requirement to illuminate terminal signs.

Cost of Scheme

• Overall budget £219K: – Phase 1: £67K. – Phase 2: £152K. • Cost of advertising Traffic Regulation Orders c. £12K. • All costs met from Council’s 2011/12 and 2012/13 LTP Integrated Transport allocations. Education v. Enforcement

• General approach is to encourage drivers to travel more slowly in residential areas rather than punishing drivers who break the new limits. • Police have adopted a ‘hands off’ approach – no commitment to enforce 20 mph speed limits. • Camera enforcement not currently an option. • Use of vehicle activated signs and Community Speedwatch to encourage compliance.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Limited evaluation carried out to date – Phase 1 went ‘live’ less than a year ago. • Initial results show that average speeds within the Phase 1 area have typically reduced by between 1 and 2 mph, consistent with the experience in Portsmouth. • Further speed monitoring to be carried out over the coming months. • Casualty statistics also being monitored. Conclusions

• Strong public support for the 20 mph speed limit scheme. • Overall cost of implementation similar to that originally envisaged. • Initial results encouraging, although further monitoring and evaluation needed. • Longer term outcome in terms of the number and severity of casualties still to be established. Any Questions?