DfT Setting Speed Limits - Positive news for rural speed limits

The government has published its latest guidance on setting speed limits. This is contained in DfT Department for Transport circular 01/2013 . This guidance is effective immediately.

Launching the guidance, Stephen Hammond in a written statement to the house said that the new guidance “incorporates recent changes that create more flexibility for authorities to implement 20mph limits and zones.”

The guidance recognises the benefits of 20 mph limits quoting a 5% reduction in accident rates for each 1 mph reduction in average speed. This accords well with a study from Hull which saw a 64% reduction in accident rates measured over the 3 years since implementation.

The new guidance encourages 20 mph limits in a number of ways :-
·         It identifies as priority for action that “Traffic authorities are asked to keep their speed limits under review with changing circumstances, and to consider the introduction of more 20 mph limits and zones, over time, in urban areas and built-up village streets that are primarily residential, to ensure greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, using the criteria in Section 6.” (para 12)
·         It recognises the importance of the “composition of road users (including existing and potential levels of vulnerable road users)” as a key factor that needs to be taken into account. (para 30)
·         It recognises that “Fear of traffic can affect peoples’ quality of life and the needs of vulnerable road users must be fully taken into account in order to further encourage these modes of travel and improve their safety. Speed management strategies should seek to protect local community life.” (para 32). This para is particularly significant for Stoke Golding.

The guidance comes with an appraisal tool for measuring the benefits of 20 mph implementations in different circumstances. I understand the tool considers both accident and quality of life factors. I will be trying to get my head around this shortly. However I suspect we will not have all the data to run the model ourselves.

The circular also contains guidance on setting speed limits on rural roads which has significance for roads like Wykin Lane and Stoke Road. 

So this looks like great news for rural communities. Lets see how Leicestershire County Council respond.

You can see the full document here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-local-speed-limits

Update from Parish Council Meeting

Barwell SUE

We presented the results of the traffic survey (see previous post) to the Parish Council at the January meeting and we discussed how we could move forward towards implementing a 20 mph limit. 

The Parish Council’s view was that the best route forward was to combine the 20 mph "requirement" with a consideration of the impacts of the Barwell SustainableUrban Extension (SUE) development. The Barwell SUE proposals will see 2,500 homes built on the south western edge of Barwell - a huge development. Because employment opportunities will not be developed until the final phase, there will be 2,500 households needing to go "somewhere" to work. The concern is that many of them will be heading our way using Stoke Golding as a "rat run". The Parish Council is planning to partner with the neighbouring parishes of Higham, Peckleton and Sutton Cheney to address this issue. The parish councils are now looking at the possibility of engaging a traffic consultant to help better understand the impacts and to propose how these impacts can be mitigated and managed. The Streets4All group will contribute to the terms of reference for this study and will be involved in the study and follow on work.

The Streets4All group agreed this is a sensible way forward based on the following considerations:
a) it is difficult to treat 20 mph limits in isolation of the Barwell SUE because of its major potential impact;
b) this is probably the best opportunity to find a source of funding for implementing change.

So this is not going to be quick (but it never was). But rest assured that we have heard loud and clear what the village has said and we will continue to work to make the streets of Stoke Golding safer and more liveable.

European Citizen´s Initiative "30kmh – making streets liveable!"

There is an EU wide "petition" to make 30kph (20mph) the default speed limit where people live.

If 1 million signatures can be collected in the next 12 months then the European Commission is bound to formally consider the proposal. You can find more details here  http://en.30kmh.eu/ 

The link for the petition (or more correctly the European Citizen's Initiative) is here https://30kmh.eu/oct-web-public/?lang=en 

It only takes a minute or two to complete and remember each voter in the household can sign.

20 mph in the press

The Independent has been talking about 20 mph limits. Their editorial from a couple of days ago is below and a more in depth article here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-20mph-revolution-millions-of-drivers-face-lower-speed-limits-as-new-laws-sweep-the-country-8434292.html 
Note their own survey found greater than 60% support which accords with our own survey here in Stoke Golding

Editorial: The Logic of 20 mph

That more than a third of local authorities have either already instituted a 20mph speed limit on some residential roads, or have plans to do so, can only be applauded. And with public support for more stringent restrictions in built-up areas now running at more than 60 per cent, as reported by this newspaper this week, it can only be hoped that 20mph will soon become the new normal.The most compelling argument is, of course, the question of safety. Not only do drivers travelling at slower speeds have more time to react. The damage inflicted by hitting a pedestrian at 20mph, as opposed to 30mph, is also markedly reduced. Indeed, the human skull's ability to withstand impact drops sharply beyond 20mph, perhaps because that is our own top speed.Statistics on accidents point the same way. More than half of deaths and injuries occur in 30mph zones, so the effect of a blanket 20mph limit in residential areas would be far from marginal. It might also help shift Britain from the top spot in the European league for pedestrian fatalities. Indeed, with the most recent figures showing sharp rises in accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists (up by 5 per cent and 9 per cent respectively), it is difficult to argue convincingly in defence of the status quo.
Safety is, however, not the only consideration here. There are also broader environmental benefits. Motorists' reservations might be shaken, for example, when they consider that traffic is more likely to keep flowing if cars maintain a steady (albeit more leisurely) pace, rather than moving faster but braking more often. Pollution – both noise and particulate – also noticeably decrease at slower speeds.There is a downside, of course: journeys may take slightly longer. But it is a matter of less than a minute, on the average urban journey, when congestion, traffic lights and so on are taken into account. Set against the trauma of broken bodies and ruined lives, a few seconds longer in the car is surely a price worth paying?