Proposed 20mph speed limits for Oxford
Oxford
Pedestrians Association (OxPA) warmly welcomes the proposals as
published but strongly believes they do not go far enough:
- They
will not address environmental and road safety issues found on Oxford’s
main roads, including the bus routes, where most pedestrian activity
occurs.
- They will create confusion, with both pedestrians and
vehicle users unsure as to whether the street they are in is or is not
subject to 20mph limits
OxPA has been a long standing
supporter of 20mph limits and is a founder member of the Life Begins At
20 campaign. The County Council’s own recent report, issued prior to
these consultations, confirms the County’s understanding of their
benefits.
It is therefore surprising that, having acknowledged
that the greatest safety case for 20mph limits is to be found on the
main roads, the report backs away from recommending that those roads be
subject to a 20mph limit.
Including the main roads within the 20mph limit will immeasurably enhance the benefits of the limit:
- Main roads will be much more welcoming to the young, the old, and the vulnerable so that social exclusion will be reduced
- Collisions between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users will be reduced
- The outcomes of collisions that do occur will be much less severe
- Confusion will be removed about whether a street is or is not limited to 20mph
- Conformance with the limits will be much greater due to greater clarity
- Street signage and clutter will be minimised
- Costs of implementation will be much lower
- Scheme implementation time will be much less
OxPA
therefore requests that consideration be given to achieving these
substantial additional benefits by creating a 20mph limit which is
substantially more comprehensive than that proposed.
OxPA also
requests that when introduced, the scheme should include use of the
road surface to provide reminders of speed limits, with reliance on
posted signs kept to an absolute minimum.
Lastly, OxPA hopes that the scheme will be introduced quickly so as to hasten the introduction of its welcome benefits.
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