Agenda item

To advise the Executive Member of the receipt of two petitions for 20mph speed limits on residential roads, one on a city wide basis and the second in the South Bank area.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive Member agrees to:

i)                    Request officers to progress a list of potential sites, including any in the South Bank area, for additional 20mph limit schemes and bring a subsequent report to Members setting out the process for allocating funding to requests for 20mph speed limits on residential roads.

ii) Continue to address speed management issues under the current policy rather than introduce a city-wide 20mph scheme.

ii)                  Inform the lead petitioners of the outcome of the report.

REASON:                  To ensure that speed issues are addressed through a data led process that targets resources at casualty reduction but enables officers and Members the opportunity to gather data on the effect of 20mph speed limits and whether it would be appropriate to promote a city-wide scheme in the future.

The Executive Member considered a report, which advised him of the receipt of two petitions for 20mph speed limits on residential roads, one on a city wide basis and the second in the South Bank area of the City.

Officers confirmed that no significant alterations to policy had occurred to implement a city wide 20mph speed limit on residential roads since Members had considered the issue on 14 July 2008. It was reported that the current speed management policy concentrated resources on roads that had a proven accident record in place, in order to focus on casualty reduction. In addition the Council was working with the 95 Alive partnership and the North Yorkshire Police to compile a list of suitable sites where 20mph speed limits could be introduced.

Officers reported that the Police had pointed out that they would expect all sites chosen to comply with DFT guidelines and that Police would be unable to enforce any restrictions.

Anna Semelyn, a Fishergate resident, spoke in support of a 20mph city wide speed limit. She stated that 80% of residents nationally supported such limits. She also made reference to the Officer report which she felt was flawed in particular paragraph 5 and the references to Portsmouth and that the reference to roads with proven accident records, in paragraph 11 discriminated against those roads where individual accidents took place. She pointed out that every 1 mile per hour reduction in speed gave a 3 to 6% reduction in injuries. She requested the Executive Member to support the implementation of a 20mph speed limit on all residential streets in the City.

Sonja Perry, also a Fishergate resident, referred to parking along terraced streets and to visibility problems for motorists when children crossed these roads. She referred to an accident her son had been involved in which she felt the introduction of 20mph speed limits on all residential streets would help alleviate.

Andy Chase, a South Bank resident, also spoke in support of the petition from South Bank residents requesting a 20mph speed limit in their area. He stated that the petition now had a further 108 signatories in support and that he supported both traffic calming measures and a city wide scheme.

Councillor Potter, confirmed her disappointment at the Officers recommendations as she felt that neither option went far enough. Following receipt of a number of petitions from residents requesting the implementation of 20mph speed limits on residential roads she felt that city wide implementation would be a better way to move forward.

Councillor Gillies, confirmed that he supported the principle of such a limit but only in clearly defined neighbourhoods. He stated that he was not convinced by some of the claims made in support of a city wide scheme, particularly as a scheme would be unenforceable by the Police. He expressed support for working with the Police in this matter.

Officers stated that they wished to see the results of the Fishergate trial before proceeding further. She confirmed that there were added benefits with a 20mph scheme as confirmed by the DfT and that the Department were consulting and recommending Authorities to look at implementing further speed limits on all roads. She also confirmed that there was incorrect information in Paragraph 5 of the report. It was reported that no comments had been received from Ward Members.

The Executive Member confirmed that this issue needed to be considered as part of a strategy to promote safe walkable neighbourhoods and a culture change regarding residential streets, rather than as part of a response to isolated speeding incidents.

Following consideration of all comments received the Executive Member then considered the following options:

Option 1 – Complete a list of potential future 20mph sites and the criteria against which they will be determined and assessed.

Option 2 – Do not compile a list of potential future sites and allocate the funding available on the basis of petition requests.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive Member agrees to:

i)                    Request officers to progress a list of potential sites, including any in the South Bank area, for additional 20mph limit schemes and bring a subsequent report to Members setting out the process for allocating funding to requests for 20mph speed limits on residential roads. ¹.

ii) Continue to address speed management issues under the current policy rather than introduce a city-wide 20mph scheme.

ii)                  Inform the lead petitioners of the outcome of the report. ².

REASON:                  To ensure that speed issues are addressed through a data led process that targets resources at casualty reduction but enables officers and Members the opportunity to gather data on the effect of 20mph speed limits and whether it would be appropriate to promote a city-wide scheme in the future.