Valentines Day and I've got a Green party meeting tonight: a love the planet night? Ummmh - doesn't go down well with my partner....see blog on 9th February 2007.James Wishart left a comment on my last blog about 20mph zones - in that he wrote: "In a few month's time the Department for Transport will issue new guidelines called the 'Manual for Streets' specifying that all residential areas should have a 20mph design speed."
Photo: Gloucester 20 mph zone: not the end of 20 mph zones but rather this must be the beginning of many more
This 'Manual' will basically be guidelines to assist practitioners in making informed decisions relating to appropriate streets design. The draft 'Manual for Streets' states: "7.9.2 All streets whose main function is to provide a residential environment should have vehicle speeds of no more than 20mph. All measures that slow traffic help pedestrians feel safer. The most effective ways to discourage speeds above 20 mph are often to either generate sufficient ‘side friction’ on streets e.g. by the provision of on street parking, ......."
I hope it still appears in the final version of the Manual and is made even stronger. The 'Manual for Streets' also looks set to move more in the direction of support for schemes like 'Shared Spaces' (click 'Labels' below for more info re this important approach).
James Wishart's blog about 20 mph zones has some great info about his campaign - like commonly held myths about 20 mph zones. I have taken the liberty of reproducing them here:
There are some commonly held negative views that the public hold regarding 20mph zones which are usually based on misconceptions or misapprehensions.
• “20mph is too slow for most traffic.” In most residential areas, the average speed will already be below 30mph and in the St Edmund’s area is probably about 20 to 25mph. Government guidance for road planners is shortly to be published which will say that all residential areas should be governed by a 20mph limit.
• “20mph zones require road humps which are a nuisance”. As stated above the average speed in residential areas is likely to be just over 20mph. At this low average speed, the law permits the provision of 20mph zones without road humps.
• “If the average speed of traffic is already low why do we need 20mph zones?” Accident statistics show that the death rate resulting from a collision between a car and a pedestrian is nine times higher for 30mph than it is for 20mph. Furthermore a 20mph zone is about more than accident reduction. The limit reinforces the fact that residential areas require a different balance between car and pedestrian with more power and authority being given to the pedestrian.
• “The police do not enforce or monitor 20mph speed limits”. The police do not monitor 20mph limits because it is considered that they are ‘self enforcing’. However there is no reason why these limits should not be enforced like any other speed limit.
• “20mph zones are already provided near schools. Why do we need them elsewhere?” Pedestrians are a vulnerable class whatever their age and children do not disappear when remote from schools.
Other sources of good info include the Slower Streets initiative and of course the Transport 2000 website - see under capmaigns for their '20 is Plenty'. Click on the 'Labels' below to link to letters re campaign in Gloucestershire and more locally in Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill. Meanwhile coming soon I hope to be adding some of the responses re 20 mph zones to this blog - at the moment I've had very favourable from Lib Dem and Labour are putting a motion on this - all good news.
It does seem amazing how long all this takes to get the Department of Transport to move - it was only in 1991 that the first three 20 mph speed limits forming zones were implemented in Sheffield, Kingston upon Thames and Norwich. In much of Europe 30 kph is standard for residential/town centres. Until June 1999 specific consent from the Secretary of State was needed - and up until October 2005 only around 450 zones were installed in the UK. But we are at last getting through, a culture shift is slowly taking place.......
2 comments:
I am pleased to see this entry Philip. Maybe we are getting a head of steam going. Oddly, I am concerned that if we draw too much attention to the wording of the draft Manual someone in the Department may get cold feet and have second thoughts. The proposal does not seem to have had much publicity so far.
You could well be right - but I understand much of it has already gone through consultation and the case for 20 mph is so overwhelming that it would indeed be criminal if they did back down - I say 'criminal' because we know that it can save lives.
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