Are you interested in the adoption of 20mph limits in urban and village areas?

Do your responsibilities include any of these :-

• Developing speed limit policies?
• Setting speed limits?
• Developing active travel?
• Public Health?
• Transport equality?
• Community cohesion?
• Noise abatement?
• Emission control?
• Road danger reduction?
• Child mobility?

Or maybe you just want your place to be a better place to be?

If so then the 20's Plenty for Scotland will bring together experienced and respective speakers presenting on issues that will help you understand the place for 20mph limits in your places.

This conference will highlight both the national 20mph limit set by Wales in September and also the plans in Scotland for its 20mph roll-out by 2025. It will feature implementations and results from the  20mph cities of Edinburgh and London as well as from Scottish Borders Council. An international perspective on 30km/h and 20mph limits will be given by the European Transport Safety Council and we will hear from Public Health professionals on the influence of street speeds on population health.

The conference will give valuable insights into the developing best practice around 20mph limits.

Speakers

• Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Wales
• Kaarina Ruta, Transport Assistant, Welsh Local Government Association
• Cllr Scott Arthur, Principal Policy Lead - Roads, City of Edinburgh Council
• Ellen Townsend, Policy Director, European Transport Safety Council
• Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner for Mayor of London
• Philippa Gilhooly, Team Leader for Traffic and Road Safety Management, Scottish Borders Council
• Dr Sarah Jones, Consultant in Environmental Public Health, Public Health Wales
• Dr Margaret Douglas, Consultant in Public Health, Public Health Scotland
• Fiona Hyslop, Minister of Transport, Scottish Government (invited)
• Gail MacGregor, Environment and Economy Spokesperson, COSLA (invited)

Delegate fees are set to provide a very cost-effective and informative day for delegates.

For Public Sector delegates the fee is £95

For Private Sector delegates the fee is £175

If you are a 20's Plenty campaigner please contact us directly at [email protected] 

Book here for the conference

With the Welsh government already committed to a national default 20mph limit for urban and village roads, the Scottish Government has announced that it plans[1] for 20mph to become the norm in built-up areas. This aligns with global best practice[2] that 20mph or 30km/h is the maximum permissible speed on roads used by pedestrians and cyclists unless a higher limit is evidentially safe. It is a key component of Scotland’s response to the Climate Emergency and helps to support Active Travel.

The Scottish Government has published its Road Safety Framework to 2030 Draft for consultation.

We applaud the vision within this that "Our vision is for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030." 

Scotland's road fatalities per million population stands at 30 this is considerably greater than leaders such as Iceland at 17 and Sweden at 22. Whilst such a radical vision is laudable we are concerned that the plans are not radical enough to catch up and overtake other countries in terms of road safety.

Our response to the consultation points out that much more must be done if Scotland's performance is to match its' aspirations. It makes particular reference to speed management. 

The Safer Streets Bill reaches its Stage 1 debate in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 13th June. This evening I sent the following email to the Members of the Scottish Parliament.

20’s Plenty are dismayed with the RECC report[1]. The views are illogical, innumerate and deeply flawed. They show a shocking disregard for protecting the lives of vulnerable road users and promoting active travel.  

[1] https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/REC/2019/5/31/Stage-1-Report-on-the-Restricted-Roads--20-mph-Speed-Limit---Scotland--Bill

The Scottish Government are questioning a 20mph default limit. Our response is to ask for clarity. Exactly what is at the heart of the matter with 20mph? Evidence, political will, siding with the motoring lobby or a lack of vision?

20mph Scotland Poll 72% Support. Policy costs 0.75% of transport budget for 2 years. Leaders should prioritise local streets.

Public opinion is for 20mph - 72% and rising. Scotland’s elected leader– Nicola Sturgeon should back a national change to 20mph. The cost is £10m for 2 years – only 0.75% of the total transport budget. Reducing road danger is like seatbelt and smoking ban laws. On 20mph we need leaders who will lead and make national changes!

We have just submitted our response to the Rural and Economic Connectivity Committee of the Scottish Parliament consultation regarding the "Restricted Roads (20mph speed limit) (Scotland) Bill". This bill will set a national 20mph limit (instead of 30mph) for most restricted roads with the ability of local traffic authorities to make exceptions which will retain a 30mph limit. It provides for national consistency and local flexibility.

"We applaud the Scottish Government in progressing this bill to its current stage. It provides a huge opportunity to align Scotland to what is becoming best practice across the world and especially in more socially aware countries. It aligns Scotland with such countries as Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Austria, Germany and Japan where 30kmh is the accepted norm in communities whether urban or rural.

It will move Scotland away from the English model of inconsistent local setting of speed limits on built-up roads based on council priorities, values and empathy with communities. It will instead provide for a common national value of how roads are shared and do what national governments do best by setting those standards, facilitating implementation yet still allowing the flexibility for exceptions to be determined locally."

Our full response follows. 

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