Residential Bristol Could Eventually Become 20mph Speed Zone

[RobBrady]

A pilot 20 mph speed limit came into operation yesterday in Inner South Bristol.

As part of its "Cycling City" project, Bristol Council say their "primary objective is to make walking and cycling around these areas safe and more attractive, thereby encouraging more people to walk and cycle around their own community."

They quote research that suggests that pedestrians struck at 30mph have about a 1 in 5 chance of being killed. At 20mph the chance of a pedestrian dying is reduced to 1 in 40.

When asked in an interview on Radio Bristol whether the whole of Bristol could see a 20 mph speed limit, Councillor Jon Rogers replied: "I think that would be what we would try to do. Obviously there's the cost... but the message we're getting from right across Bristol is that 20mph is enough."

Rogers, Bristol Council's executive member for transport and sustainability, did concede that the money had to be found to finance a city wide project and that money was currently limited.

It's interesting to note that there will be no speed cameras or physical traffic calming features such as speed humps or chicanes to enforce the limit. This begs the question: how many will simply ignore the limits and will the scheme be unenforceable without cameras?
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Robert Brady

[mxmaciek]

I can imagine happy faces of the pedestrian and cyclists, moving around the cars driven with the speed of 20mph, emitting (2nd gear) 50% more flue gases per mile
This have to encourage somebody to walk or cycle? Perhaps, if the compressed air breathing apparatus will be cheaper.


Edited: After careful consideration, I have one safety advice for all of the councils across the UK:
Recent scientific crash tests carried by ADAC ant others demonstrated, that killing the pedestrian with the car, which is pushed to move by the driver is virtually impossible. And, such way of the movement, will not emit CO2 at all. Some GH gases can be emit, true, but from the completely different driver's end, especially on the uphill roads

[DarrenR21373]

I thought that CO2 was supposed to be the big killer (if you believe the green hype)?

If that is the case, why are councils up and down the land supporting schemes that increase CO2 emissions from vehicles? Research has shown that a vehicle driving at 20MPH is more polluting as it is less efficient than one doing 30...

http://www.theaa.com/public_affairs/news/20mph-roads-emissions.html

Oh yeah, I forgot - lower speed limits mean more people "speed", making more money for the councils in fines - haven't they heard that the money is to go to the Treasury in future?
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Drive carefully; the Government needs all the Taxpayers it can get.

[Goober556]

If its a choice between keeping CO2 emissions lower or less children being run over and killed, I'd choose less children being killed.

[Border_Collie]

[DennisN]

To bring this to a really serious note.... It might be a good idea to carry out a national survey to find out whether people would prefer to be killed outright, rather than not killed by a slower moving vehicle which doesn't kill them, simply leaves them paraplegic. We see lots of heart jerking stories about "brave" people in wheelchairs with mobility controlled by a blink of the eyes. My younger brother was transformed from an enthusiastic triathlon performer to being unable to walk, talk, see. I never dare ask him.

Which would you prefer - to be run over at 30mph by an insured driver, or at 20mph by an uninsured one. Lost_Property has it right. Learn and teach how to cross the road. Punish driving offenders by taking their vehicles off them. Zero tolerance.
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[M8TJT]

[Andy_P]

Many minor, residential roads in Ealing (West London) have quietly been re-designated as 20 mph limits recently.

I don't remember any discussion or announcements about it, and initially I was irritated by it.
But actually I don't have any great issues with the idea. I'm glad to see they haven't spent loads of money on extra "calming" measures like chicanes or humps, and I HAVE slowed down.

[Border_Collie]

In Medway for dropping litter it's an £80 reduced to £60 if paid within 10 days. Fail to pay and they take you to Court.

Getting back on track. In the not too distant future my road will be inside an area of approx 1 mile by half a mile reduced to a 20mph speed limit, 24/7. It's to be brought in because the number of schools in the area but 24/7!!! For school childrens safety? Oh I see, and to catch people out with the mobile camera up the road, at present 30mph, at which point there are no schools and not really part of any walking route to one of them. However, I mentioned the A2 earlier where the existing 40mph limit is to stay, even though there are more kids walking to and from school along that road than most of the others put together.
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Formerly known as Lost_Property
And NO that's NOT me in the Avatar.

[mxmaciek]

@Lost_Property:
Exactly my position. I live in the distance of 400yards from the Primary School and Nursery.

I would like to speak personally to the council members, who voted for 24/7/365 speed limit of 20mph because of the poor kids safety (particularly: in the Saturdays, approx. 22:30, when most of them are leaving the school, according to the council's thought).

The reason why I'd like to speak with them is: could they give me the phone of their psychiatrist, as the guy did perfect job: he put the people with so heave brain damages to so highlighted position

More, the happy-money-spending council decided that the painted circle with the nonsense on it is not enough, so they installed the humps on the road as well.

Emmm.... have I mentioned that the speed limit is on the one, least category road from the three surrounding streets?
And.. have I mentioned, that all of the three roads have the underground passage to the school?

So, let's see: we have the school, surrounded by three streets, if we will use the categories, it would be 2xA and one B road. the A's have no special speed limit, while B - got one. B, is fitted with the humps, while A's - are not. At least, there is something equal for all of it: all three roads have underground passages, leading directly to the school's doors.


@Goober556:
have you ever thought, how danger for the kids the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - SIDS is?
I'd recommend to:
1) ban use of the beds for infants;
2) while going to sleep, each infant should be ventilated by respiratory and monitored by the professional nurse. Girls - at least until 2y.o, boys (if nurse will be young enough), up to 18

@Andy_P:
same as for the street near my home: I WOULD understand the reason of the speed decrease, even if I think that if there is the underground passage, and if I think that the street is not the playground, in the hours, when there is somebody in the school. I would not understand why I have to slow down all year round, around the clock.
What I would say is missing in UK in general: instead of the speed limits, speed cams, humps, bumps, hedgehog in the road, I'd prefer the WARNING sign, mandatory in the country of my origin, obligating the driver to increase the attention. To be clear: this is NOT the information, but the warning sign, and the driver is obligated to increase the attention, slow down, give a way, whatever is necessary and safe, depending on the time and the conditions.
on the link jpg, look at A-17.
http://www.zdamprawko.pl/upload/file/a_znaki_drogowe_ostrzegawcze.jpg

[mikeprytherch]

My initial reaction to this is to be completely horrified by the idea, however.....

Over the weekend I drove my wife's car, something that thankfully doesn't happen too often, and I noticed that the trip computer stated that since the last service (over 1,500 miles ago) the average speed of the car was 18.9 mph !, this got me thinking about this debate as my wife drives almost exclusively around our local area.

In urban areas what is your real average speed ? thinking about it when I drive around my location town I travel from one jam to another and actually getting to 30 is almost non-existent, perhaps at night only.

I think we need to implement dual zone speeds, I have 2 small kids and I like the idea of 20 zones outside schools and I don't mind them in and around town centres, however come the evening, the speeds should revert back to 30.

[Border_Collie]

[Fat_Jez]

To be honest, anyone who has driven in Bristol knows that to do 20mph would mean increasing your spead I've never known a worse city to drive around

[mxmaciek]

[DennisN]

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