TrafficAuthorities“doing”20’sPlenty ThefollowingTrafficsAuthoritieshaveallinitiatedapolicyofimplementinganauthoritywide20mphspeedlimitfor residentialroads. PortsmouthwasthefirstcitytouseDfTCircular01/2006toimplement20mphacrossallresidentialroads.Thiswas startedin2007andcompletedinMay2008over5phases.Therewasmuchpublicengagementwithleafletsgoingout toallfamiliesineachphasedarea. NorwichCityCouncilvotedunanimouslytoimplement20mphacrosstheauthority.Currentlythisisbeingtrialledina smallnumberofroads. TR_1*#,27 -01 OxfordCityCounciliscurrentlygoingthroughpublicconsultationonimplementing20mphacrossthewholeauthority. Therewasconsiderabledebateastowhethertoincludearterialroadsaswell. Newcastle.Aftertriallingadvisory20mphspeedlimits,NewcastleCityCouncilhasdecidedthat,onthebasisof Portsmouth’sresults,itwillconverttheadvisory20mphschemesintomandatorylimits. Leicesterhasmadeadecisiontograduallyrollout20mphacrossthewholetownoverthenext5years. WarringtonhasisalreadypilotinganauthorityRwideimplementationbymeansofanexperimentaltrafficorderon147 roads. Bristolisplanning20mphasthedefaultacrossathirdofthecity. IslingtonisthefirstLondonBoroughtosetinplaceabudgetfortheimplementationof20mphacrossthewhole borough. Inconclusion Webelievethatthesedevelopmentsarecriticalinprovidinganewapproachtoroaddanger reductionthatinvolvescommunitiesanddriversinawaywhichisneverpossiblewithlocalised20 mphschemesorotherjunctionorhighwayengineeringimprovements. ItiscapableofcreatingwhatFredWegmannofSWOV(DutchRoadSafetyResearchInstitute) calledthe“paradigmshift”whichisrequiredintheUKifwearetocreateanenvironmentwhichis abletoprovidethesamelevelsofsafetyforVulnerableRoadUsersintheUKasinNorthern Europe. Theoldmethodsoflocalisedinfrastructureimprovementsataccidentblackspotsarereturningfewergainsperpound spentandweneedtomovetomethodswhichwillprovideafarwiderbenefitacrosscompletetownsandboroughs.20 mphasthedefaultspeedlimitforresidentialandurbanroads,whereinevitablytherearevulnerableroadusers,hasto bethemostimportantandeffectivemechanismfordeliveringsaferroadsonawiderbasis.Italsomatchesthe characteristicofvulnerableroaduserinjurieswhichtendtobemorescatteredthanmotoroccupantinjuries. Thecasefor20mphasthedefault Soifyouwanttofindouthowabetterroadenvironmentcanbedeliveredtoyourcommunitythenwhynothavea speedlimitforresidentialroads. lookatourwebsiteorcontactusforfurtherinformation. 20’sPlentyforUsisanationalcampaignthatsupportsthosecommunitieswishingto implement20mphasthedefaultspeedlimitforresidentialandtowncentreroads.Itis availabletoprovideadvice,andexamplesof20’sPlentyimplementationsacrossthe country. Thisspacereserved Implementinglowerspeedsthatworkrequiresfarmorethanhighwayengineering.20’s foryourtownor PlentyForUscanofferpracticaladviceonhowtoworkwithcommunitiestomaximise city*. RodKing drivercomplianceandcommunityownershipoflowerspeeds. Contact 20’sPlentyForUs 20’sPlentyForUs,TheRosebankCentre,PepperStreet,Lymm,Cheshire,WA130JG Email:[email protected] Tel:07973639781 20’sPlentyForUsto 19thMarch2009 findouthow. Publishedby20’sPlentyforUs.*Notethatcouncillogosusedonfrontpageareforinformativepurposesonlyanddo notindicateanyendorsementoforconnectionwith20’sPlentyForUsasanorganisationbythosecouncils. 20mphspeedlimitsacrossawholecommunity Democracyandcommunitycommitment Theinformationon20mphstreetsreducingcollisionsandaccidentsiswelldocumented Wherea“micro”limitisputinplacethenthisisusuallydecidedbytrafficengineerswithlimitedconsultationand fromexistingresearchandexperienceofthosetownsdeploying20mphlimitsandzones. engagementwithcommunities.Whilsttrafficengineersmayknowthatsuchamove“makessense”thisisnotalways communicatedtothecommunitiesinvolved.Eventhenitwouldbelimitedtotheresidentswithinthose20mphlimits However,mostresearchandexperienceisbaseduponwhatwecall“micro”20mph ratherthanthedrivers,whomayliveoutsideofthosestreets. sites.Thesearewheretheengineeringhasbeendoneonisolatedselectedstreetsor estates.Theyhavebeencharacterisedbythedefaultformostroadsstillbeing30mph However,whenaLocalAuthoritydecidesuponanauthoritywidelimitthenthisnaturallyinitiatesadebateatcitizen, andreducingthisinareaswherepastaccidentsstatisticsorotherrequirementshave memberandofficerlevelaboutthebenefitstothewholecommunityofsuchachange.Thiscanthereforebewidened offeredbenefitsfromlowerspeedsonaKSI(KilledorSeriouslyInjured)basis.Effectively toincludeobjectivesformodalshift,empowermentofthosewithoutcars,lowernoiselevels,lowerpollutionaswellas onewould“normally”driveat30mphandthen“slowdown”to20mphwheresuchspeedlimitsexisted. loweraccidentsandinjuries. Otherinitiativessuchas20mpharoundschoolsareflawedbecausemostchildpedestrianaccidentshappencloserto Thisthereforecreatesa“collectivecommunitycommitment”tolowerspeedsandroaddangerreductionwhichwould homethanschool.Infactsuchschemeslegitimiseanincreaseinspeedinjusttheplaceswherechildrenaremostat notandhasneverbeentheresultofpreviously“micro”andisolated20mphschemes. risk. Thismaximisesthecommitmentatalllevelsincreasescomplianceandreinforcespolicecommitmenttoenforcement. Ourlatestthinkingaboutloweringspeedlimitsrecognisesthatthroughoutmosttownsandurbanareasthehighlevel of30mphspeedlimits(60%higherthanthekphadoptedinNorthernEurope)isathreattovulnerableroadusers DriverBenefits whichdepressesanymodalshifttowalkingandcycling.WhilsttheremayhavebeenrecentgenericreductionsinUK KSI’sforpedestriansandcyclistsmuchmorecouldhavebeenachieved.InfacttheHealthDevelopmentAgency predictedin2003thatchildpedestriancasualtiescouldhavebeencutby2/3ifresidentialroadshada20mphspeed Inmost“micro”schemesmanydriverstravellingthroughsuchaschemeinvariablyliveon limit.Noiselevelsandpollutionarealsokepthighby30mphspeedlimitsespeciallyifmotoristsareperpetually astreetwitha30mphlimit.Thequestiongoingthroughtheirmindis“whatissospecial acceleratingto30mphandbrakingforthenextcongestionpointortrafficlights. aboutthesefamiliesthatIhavetoslowdownto20mphwhenmyfamilygetsnosimilar protectiononmystreet”.Thebenefitisperceivedasbeingtotallytotheadvantageofthe TheapproachthatbestmatchesthatofourNorthernEuropeanneighboursisthe“macro”settingof20mphspeed residentandnottothedriver. limitswherebyawholeauthorityhasitslimitforresidentialandurbanroadssetto20mphasadefaultwithexceptions beingmadewhereitisconsideredsafeto“speedup”to30mph.Thisreversestheexpectationofwhatconstitutesa However,whenoneintroducesa“macro”schemethenthefactthatitishighlylikelythat safespeedwhereroadsaresharedwithvulnerableroadusersandhasbecomepossiblethroughtheDfTissuingCircular thesamedriverwillbegettinghisownstreetchangedtoa20mphlimitprovidesarealbenefittothedriver.This 01/2006ontheSettingofLocalSpeedLimits. suddenlybecomesatwosidedrelationshipwherebythebenefitsoflowerspeedsareconferredonbothresidentand driver. ThefirsttowntousethiswasPortsmouthwhohaveset20mphasthedefaultspeedlimitforallresidentialroadsand byexceptionsetroadsat30mphforarterialandmainroads.Thefeaturesofthisinitiativewere: Thedecisionaboutanindividualdrivercomplyingwiththenewlimitthereforegetsmadeinthehome,withthefamily fromastrategicandfamilybenefitperspectiveratherthanasadriversuddenlyseeinga20mphspeedlimitsignforthe Completedwithoutanyphysicaltrafficcalming firsttime. DidnotrequireSecretaryofStateapproval Phasedinover18months Thisundoubtedlyhastheeffectofincreasingcomplianceandrespectforthelowerspeedlimits.Inadditionmostpolice CompletedbybulkTrafficOrders forceswhereauthoritywide20mphschemesareinplaceareprovidingenforcementwithfixedpenaltynotices. Costs£475,000for1,200streets(£333perstreet) Hasalreadyreducedaveragespeedsby3mph Communitybenefits Thebenefitsof20mphspeedlimitsaremostsignificantinaccidentandinjuryreduction.Howeverthebenefitsgofar ThisisbeingfollowedbyWarrington,Oxford,Norwich,Leicester,NewcastleandIslingtonwhohavealreadycommitted beyondthisforthecommunityandinclude: toasimilarinitiativeandarebeingrolledoutandpiloted.Thisamountstoover1.5mresidentsinsuchareas. Greatermodalshifttowalkingandcycling Therearecertainadvantagesofsuchmacroapproachonatown,cityorboroughbasisandtheseinclude: Increasedchildmobility Lowercoststhroughbulktrafficorders Lowernoiseandpollutionlevels Lowercostsof20mphsignsthroughbulkpurchaseanddeployment Greaterindependencefortheelderlyandinfirm Betterandcheapermarketingofchangesbybeingabletoeducate/consultwiththecomplete Calmerdrivingconditionswitheasiersideroadintegration community Increasedamenityinurbancentres. Clearerunderstandingofwhichstreetswillbe20mph Agreatersenseofcommunitywellbeing. Howevertherearetwoaspectswhichuntilnowwebelievehavebeenunrecognisedandnotbeenatallpresentin Increasedhealththroughincreasedwalkingandcycling. “micro”andisolated20mphschemes. Lesstraffic. Theseareconnectedtothedemocraticprocessofadoptinga20mphspeedlimitasadefaultandalsotheenhanced Lowerspeedsinresidentialroadsisa“winwin”policy.Wefindthat80%ofthosequestionedareinsupportandthe compliancewhichresultsfromdriversmutuallybenefitingfromlivingin20mphstreets. BritishSocialAttitudesSurveyfoundthat75%ofdriverswereinfavourof20mphspeedlimitsforresidentialroads. .