20 mph speed limits. Thinking the unthinkable.

20 mph speed limits. Thinking the unthinkable. Chris Bramall writes:

June Collins and I are fully committed to improving Stourbridge. One of the problems faced by our town, as so many others, is reconciling the needs of residents with road use by drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and others (motor cyclists, horse riders, skateboarders, etc.) - and reconciling the needs of all those different road users.

In our own streets, June and I are faced with the problem of what is rudely known as "rat-running" (if you live there) or "taking a short cut" (if you're driving through). Many other people in Wollaston and the Old Quarter are faced with similar issues. In some cases roads should be closed to through traffic altogether. This can cause minor inconvenience to residents and "rat-runners" alike. But the benefits can be huge in terms of improving the living environment and road safety.

On the other hand, in some places it is unavoidable for cars to drive through residential areas. In such situations there is often a desperate need to cut speeds. This may not be a problem of enforcing the 30 mph limit. 30 mph is often much too fast for a residential area with parked cars, pedestrians (including children and old people), cyclists, cats, etc. But enforcement of 20 mph speed limits in individual streets is very difficult. And speed bumps (which are certainly effective) are unpopular for a whole number of reasons.

An organisation called "20s Plenty For Us" is calling for democratic consultations on widespread 20 mph speed limits, not in individual streets but throughout residential areas. This seems to us an idea worth pursuing. The advantages are said to be:

(1) motorists are much more likely to observe a 20 mph limit in other people's streets if they are aware that their own street is also protected by the same speed limit;

(2) cutting speed limits in a town greatly reduces traffic accidents, injuries and deaths;

(3) a universal speed limit in a town's residential areas reduces noise, reduces carbon emissions, improves health and improves the quality of life.

Worth thinking about, isn't it?

And in the meantime June and I, if elected, will work to stop "rat-running" altogether in the worst-affected streets.