Residents views sought on 20 mph limits in ten pilot areas
Friday, 21 December 2012
Hampshire County Council is seeking the views of local residents in the ten areas where it is proposing to trial residential 20 mph speed limits.
Consultation with all residents affected by the proposed speed limit is being undertaken (10,000 residents) with letters and questionnaires being sent to those who live in the roads where the 20mph limit is proposed. Following this the statutory advertising of the speed limit will be required (for 21 days) and any objections will be considered.
Councillor Mel Kendal, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Environment and Transport at the County Council, said: "If these schemes are to be successful and have the potential for being introduced in other areas, it is essential for us to establish that we have the support of local people for implementing 20mph speed restrictions. We are, therefore, sending residents who live where the 20 mph limits are proposed, a questionnaire and we would encourage as many of those residents as possible to find a few moments to complete and return it to us, so that we can get a clear picture of their views. Alternatively, they can complete the online survey.
"Department for Transport guidance states that generally, 20mph speed limits should be self enforcing. The police are unlikely to treat enforcement as a priority in the residential 20mph areas and so the support of residents, through their participation in Community Speed Watch programmes, will be vital should compliance with the limits become an issue."
The Residential 20 project has been developed to take advantage of the Department of Transport's recent relaxations to the signing requirements associated with 20 mph limits. The pilot schemes are intended to test the effectiveness of this new approach in response to requests from residents and with the backing of local County Councillors. The ten recommended locations for the pilot schemes are residential roads in:
Whitchurch, Basingstoke
Medstead, East Hampshire
Cherbourg Road (and surrounding roads), Eastleigh
Wallington Village, Fareham
Clarence Road, Connaught Road, Albert Street and Albany Road area, Hart
Hythe, New Forest
North Camp Farnborough, Rushmoor
Hayling Island, West Town, Havant
Stanmore, Winchester
Floral Way, Andover
The total cost for implementing the pilot schemes will be in the region of £250,000, with the first schemes expected to be implemented in the Spring, once consultation with residents to establish support for the lower speed limit in each area has been undertaken.
The 20mph speed limits will be indicated in the pilot areas using road side signs at the start of the limits and 20mph road marking 'roundels' on the road surface within the areas. Residents will be encouraged to help promote awareness of their 20mph speed limit via a publicity campaign. 'Before' and 'After' speed monitoring will be carried out in a sample of roads in each area to assess the impact of the new speed limit.
The final ten areas were assessed against the following criteria and provide a variety of different locations in which to test the effectiveness of 20mph residential areas:
- urban, residential estate type roads currently subject to a 30 mph speed limit where the character/environment naturally lends itself to a lower limit;
- defined areas with a limited number of roads within a distinct residential environment;
- clear evidence of local support for a lower speed limit including a commitment to organise a Community Speed Watch group;
- and areas with existing traffic calming/speed controlling features in place.
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