20's Plenty North Lancs is campaigning for a default 20 mph speed limit within our district, with the exception of arterial roads.
Why? For a safer and better district. By having lower speeds we can significantly reduce the number of accidents, deaths and injuries in our district. We can also make our streets quieter and more pleasant to walk, cycle and play in.
In January 2011 plans were announced for a Lancashire-wide 20mph limit on residential streets. We are working to publicise the benefits of 20mph limits, to counter the myths around them, and to support the implementation of an effective scheme.
If you'd like to get involved with this movement for a positive change in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, please join this group.
E-mail sent by Patricia Clarke, Monday, 11th April 2011 @ 7:42pm
Apologies for cross-posting. I fear some of you will be receiving this for the third time! Patricia
Dear all
You will know that Lancashire County Council has decided to implement a 20mph speed limit on all residential streets (but not arterial routes) and outside schools throughout the county. This is a bold decision, aimed at reducing the county's toll of road traffic deaths and injuries, particularly amongst children.
Following the experiences of Portsmouth, the new speed limit will involve 20mph signs, but no traffic calming or speed bumps. This will be much cheaper than the current 20mph zones (for which there is a long waiting list) and is intended to create a county wide culture among drivers that 20mph is the right speed when on residential roads.
Of course, the council is encountering resistance to the initiative. This is partly because the people who don't like the idea are shouting more loudly than those that do! We believe they are in the minority. A recent survey of 133 households on Lancaster's West Road found that 77% would like to see the speed limit reduced to 20 mph without the use of speed bumps, with just 9% disagreeing.
If you would be great if you would send an email or letter to your county councillor in support of lower speeds and safer streets. There's more information below to help you.
Please also forward this message within your own networks - the more the merrier!
Cllr Tim Ashton tim.ashton@lancashire.gov.uk
Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport
Lancashire County Council
PO Box 78
County Hall
PRESTON PR1 8XJ
Sample letter (which I also put on the Groupspaces site as a Word document; feel free to add your own personal thoughts/experience):
Dear County Councillor
I am writing in support of Lancashire's decision to implement a 20mph limit on all residential roads in the county. This is great news for road safety and will save lives. Neighbourhoods will be pleasanter places to live with a decrease in speeding vehicles, and hopefully it will remove parents' fear of letting their children walk or cycle to school. Vulnerable people will also find this a boost.
Making this a county-wide scheme is a good idea, as it will come to be seen as the norm throughout Lancashire and speeding will become the exception rather than the rule.
I look forward to seeing the scheme implemented in my own area.
Yours sincerely
cc: County Councillor Tim Ashton
Benefits of a blanket 20mph limit:
reductions in deaths and serious injuries, particularly among children and the elderly. In Hull 20mph limits have led to child pedestrian casualties dropping by 74%. Incidents in which anyone (in a car or not) is killed or serious injured are down by 90%. In Portsmouth the number of casualties from road crashes fell by 22% in 2 years.
people feel safer to walk and cycle - leading to health benefits e.g. fighting obesity and heart disease
communities are quieter and more pleasant
lower pollution levels
much cheaper and quicker to implement than piecemeal 20mph zones, which only benefit a small proportion of neighbourhoods
leading to change in general driving practice rather than people only slowing when forced to by speed bumps
Of course some drivers object to reducing their speed, but interestingly, the impact of a 20mph limit on journey times by car is not great. Average speeds in built up areas tend to be much below 30mph, so a 20mph limit typically adds only one minute to a 15 minute journey.
E-mail sent by Patricia Clarke, Sunday, 30th January 2011 @ 3:28pm
Dear all,
You'll have seen Sue's email about the good news that County Councillor Tim Ashton has announced that all residential roads in Lancashire are to have 20mph limits by 2013. Still difficult to believe, but . . .
E-mail sent by Sue Holden, Tuesday, 25th January 2011 @ 2:01pm
Hi everyone
Unless this is an early April's fool joke, here's some great news from John Whitelegg:
Subject: [Lp-lancaster-cllrs] we have 20mph
>
> Hi,
>
> County Cllr Tim Ashton was quoted on Radio Lancashire this morning saying we
> will have 20mph speed limits on every residential road in Lancashire and
> this will be done by 2013 at a cost of £9 million. Subject to a little bit
> more reflection this is absolutely fantastic. I am doing a live Radio
> Lancashire thing about it at 1730 today.
>
> This would be the largest 20mph project in the UK covering a substantial
> proportion of the 1.2 million residents.
>
> John
Sounds a bit too good to be true (ach, I'm always so glass-half-empty)? Let's get stuck when everyone starts slagging it off...
Also (less exciting) we did our first 20s plenty survey before Christmas, we've now analysed the results which are favourable. Kerry and I will tap out a press release. That data will be good to use in the media in the next few weeks, I expect as it shows public support for lower speeds but less so for speed bumps.
