What are communities wanting?

Communities across the world are asking for 20mph (30km/h) as a norm in cities, towns and villages.

Local people understand how higher vehicle speeds blight communities and inhibit their ability to walk, cycle and use public transport; they know that lower speeds save lives and reduce pollution; and they appreciate that 20mph can be the cornerstone of building inclusive communities.  In successive UK government surveys, 70% said that 20mph was the right speed limit for residential streets.

Parish and Town Councils that support 20mph speed limits where people live, work and play show that they care about local community wishes and demonstrate that support to the Local Highway Authority.

Use our calculator to see the casualty and financial benefits from implementing 20mph in your Local Authority. 

Ask your local election candidate to pledge their support for 20mph.

20s Plenty for Us has created a template letter for campaigners to ask their local council candidates to pledge support for 20mph. Originally designed for county council elections, the template can be adapted for use in (e.g.) Mayoral, Police and Crime Commissioner, borough / district  or parish council elections.

20s Plenty for Us has created a template letter for campaigners to ask local council candidates to pledge support for 20mph. Also included is a pledge card that the candidate can sign, be photographed with return to the local campaigner.  As well as county council elections, the template can be adapted for other elections, such as Police and Crime Commissioner, borough / district  and parish council.

It is important that our communities get that correct 20mph limit on our residential streets, our  shopping streets, around our schools, and anywhere that we expect pedestrians and cyclists to mix with motor vehicles. Your authority can already set 20mph limits on most of your urban and village roads.

Remind the decision makers in your local authority that our communities need to join the many in the UK where the consensus is that 20's Plenty where people are, and have authority-wide default 20mph limits.

Elected county or city councillors (in Unitary Local Authorities) have powers to set speed limits. Not MPs, district or parish councillors. Campaign targets are mainly the top (cabinet level) councillors. They have budget control/money. Officers eg highways employees do not set or update policy. Aim to update policy through councillors.

County-wide campaigns are when 20’s Plenty branches across a highway authority area jointly call for 20mph limits.  Rather than compete for funds, campaigns work together for the policy commitment to giving all built up areas wide 20mph limits.  Unity is powerful and it’s the most cost-effective policy.

If your council’s policy doesn’t yet support wide area 20mph signed limits, then an update to align it with public health best practice is needed. How? Tactics include calling for a best practice update to the Cabinet Member for Transport, Leader, Director of Public Health, scrutiny or in manifestos.

On 5th June Hampshire County Council published a report reviewing its trial of 20mph limits. Whilst we believe that the trials were poorly implemented they still gathered support from communities and in our eyes were moderately successful. We were disappointed that rather than analysing what it could do better in providing future 20mph limits to communities the report chose to ignore its own failures in implementating best practice and instead recommend against future similar schemes.

Here we critique the report in detail and call on Hampshire County Council to review its policy on 20mph limits.

The following critique may be downloaded here