Wednesday 6 October 2010

Statement to Warrington Bourough Council

Warrington Borough Council recently asked me for a statement to go into their report on their recent 20mph pilots. It was as follows :-

Driving slower where people live is nothing new or radical. In fact it is already common in towns and communities all over Europe. Indeed, it was a trip to our twin town, Hilden, in 2004 which made me realise that so many of our attitudes to sharing the streets were unfair to the young, the old, the disabled, the disadvantaged and every one of us who wants their streets to be as much a place to live as to drive. From this came the formation of 20’s Plenty for Us as the national voluntary organisation supporting communities who want better streets through lower motor vehicle speeds.


In Hilden and other European towns the vast majority of in-town trips are made by walking, cycling or by bus. In Hilden an 18mph speed limit on residential roads was put in during the 90’s and became a foundation for active travel. Their children largely cycle or walk to school and drivers accept that a few seconds longer on a journey is no real inconvenience.

The only thing stopping us doing this in Warrington and other UK towns is our resistance to change. Whilst we disagree with the need for the pilots (there is ample evidence that 20mph limits do work), the recent 20mph pilots have shown not only that Warrington drivers will elect to travel slower, but also that residents will feel that their streets have become better places to live. The evidence from other towns which have adopted 20mph across the whole town is that this delivers even greater results. On slower roads it keeps the speeds low and on faster roads reduces it by 6mph or more.

That reduction makes a huge difference in reducing the danger on our roads. And Warrington really is in need of such a change. Every 12 hours in 2009 someone was injured on Warrington roads, every 4 days someone was seriously injured and every 60 days someone died. In Warrington 1 in 26 children will be killed or injured on the roads before their 16th birthday. For child road casualties we are in the worst 25% of towns in the country. This is not simply about reducing pedestrian and cycle casualties, but also motor vehicle occupants as well.

We all know that council budgets are tight, but the cost of road casualties in Warrington is put at £50m per annum. That’s £253 for every man, woman and child and 50% more than most towns of our size. The cost of implementing a 20mph limit throughout the town on all residential roads and excluding arterial roads is just £1m. Whilst it will not instantly reduce our casualties to zero it can become the foundation for making all of Warrington a better and safer place to be.

It will show that we can make the right judgements about what matters to a civilised and compassionate community. It is time for all of us to take a hard look at our collective sharing of roads and simply say that 20’s Plenty Where People Live. And that time is now.

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