EU citizens begin petition for 20mph urban speed limit

Lambeth council has resisted calls for a 20mph speed limit across the borough which would help traffic flow, reduce pollution and of course reduce collisions and fatalities. This is particularly important as road deaths in Lambeth have trebled.

However there is now an initiative at EU level. Gathering 1 million petition signatures will require serious consideration of this by the EU Commission. 55,000 UK names are needed.

The EU Parliament has already endorsed its Road Safety Strategy that "strongly recommends 20mph limits for urban roads where no separate facilities exist for cyclists"

The safety campaign 20's Plenty for Us, are using the new European Citizen's Initiative (ECI) "30kmh - making streets liveable!" to ask that 20mph/30kmh speed limits become the norm for all urban and residential roads. The EU Commission must
consider this initiative seriously when 1 million signatures are submitted.

20's Plenty for Us are on a pan-European "citizen's committee" who have one year to gain a minimum of 1m signatures (on paper or on-line) across at least 7 EU countries, including a minimum of 54,750 in the UK.

8.3m people in some of the UK's most iconic cities already live in communities adopting this policy. 30mph limits are deemed inappropriate for most of their roads. With 170 local campaign branches around the UK, 20's Plenty for Us works with many community, health, transport and safety organisations across the private, public and voluntary sectors.

This comes in time for Road Safety Week 2012 - 19-26 November with its Go20 campaign in support of 20mph limits. Our aim is for 1m signatures by Road Safety Week 2013.

You can find out more by visiting the www.30kmh.eu website.

Times newspaper gets behind 20 mph campaign

It was good to see The Times getting behind the 20mph campaign today, with it's front page on cycling and eight point manifesto (covenant), which includes the call for a default limit of 20mph on residential streets. There is another story tomorrow (Friday) which features the widespread support that the Times is already getting.

The newspaper's campaign follows the collision with a lorry of Mary Bowers, a Times reporter, at a junction on Wapping Highway close to The Times offices on 4 November.

Two days before that accident (on 2nd Nov), I was out with Jenny Jones and members of Lambeth and Southwark Green Parties highlighting the dangers of cycling, and calling for a 20mph limit to be introduced.



Lambeth and Southwark between them account for half of the ten most dangerous locations in London for cyclists. Of the 32 boroughs in London Lambeth has the second highest casualty rate for both pedestrians and cyclists. Southwark has the fourth highest overall casualty rate. In December we highlighted that road deaths trebled in Lambeth last year.

Jenny has written for the Guardian website today on this issue.

Petition launched to lower speed limit in Lambeth to 20 mph

Lambeth has one of the highest rates of road casualties in London, with the second highest casualty rate in London for both pedestrians and cyclists.

The lowering of the speed limit on residential roads in Lambeth, is something for which we have been campaigning for several years now. Last year, George Graham and others brought the ‘20s plenty’ campaign to Lambeth and organised a public meeting in Herne Hill. We have found widespread support – even from motorists who recognise that a 20 limit helps traffic flow.

Over 7 million people in the UK now live in areas where the speed limit has been dropped – showing that the campaign is both realistic and achievable. Several studies have shown that it doesn’t just reduce road casualties, but improves air quality, and encourages walking and cycling.

We have now launched an online petition to show that there is public support in Lambeth for such a move. Please sign it here and pass it around your friends, neighbours and networks.