Many of us will have noticed traffic levels creeping back up from their mid-lockdown levels. Whilst this may suggest a level of normal business returning, we shouldn’t forget the difference that quieter roads made to our communities. With this is mind, now is a good time to look again at our highways. The idea that ’20 is plenty’ is not new for Lib Dem campaigners but deserves to be revisited regularly. This relatively simple motions sets out a template which you can adapt to suit your local area.
Call to adopt 20mph maximum speeds in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix
This Council believes that 20 is plenty where people are.
This Council agrees with and supports the UK Government’s recent endorsement of The Stockholm Declaration, which stipulates in Resolution 11 that a council should “mandate a maximum road travel speed of [20mph] in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix…except where strong evidence exists that higher speeds are safe.”
Council resolves to formally adopt Resolution 11. In practice this means that the default speed limit on [AREA]’s urban and rural residential streets will be 20mph, except on main roads where speed limits, if higher, must be both safe and appropriate.
As the Local Highways Authority, this Council calls on Cabinet to consult the county’s District Councils, Parish Councils and communities to identify all the roads which should adopt a 20mph speed limit no later than 30 April 2025 and to make significant progress towards realising these changes in tandem – establishing 20mph limits in identified places quickly if communities agree.
Council commits to providing the necessary funding, to achieve the goal of making our residents safe across Gloucestershire.
says
Can you provide a link for "the UK Government’s recent endorsement of The Stockholm Declaration"? I can't find one.
Terry Weldon says
Thank you. In our town (Haslemere, Surrey) I am working with a community group promoting safer travel for pedestrians and cyclists, including but not limited to the 20 is plenty principle. I started out sceptical, but have been convinced by the evidence I have seen.
The difficulty is that even within our own group, there is opposition, and also vociferous pushback from some residents. The last thing I want to do is give the impression we are imposing something on the town against their will, so the first steps must be community education and persuasion. But when the time is right, this motion will be helpful.