A PRESSURE group which campaigns for 20mph speed limits in residential areas will be addressing a public meeting in Chester.
Rod King, founder member of the group ‘20s Plenty for Us’, will be speaking at the City Community Forum in the Westminster Building, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, at 7pm on Monday (January 30).
Simon Brown, from the Chester Cycling Campaign, said: “We are pleased that someone as well informed as Rod King from the ‘20’s Plenty’ campaign will be speaking to the forthcoming City Community Forum. “Many council areas across England have now adopted a default 20 mph limit for their residential areas and have seen the consequent benefits in reductions of children and young people, elderly and cyclist casualty figures in their areas.
“For example Warrington and Wirral Councils have both adopted this approach. There is now plenty of evidence that a ‘whole area’ approach rather than a piecemeal approach is effective at making areas where people live much safer and more pleasant by significantly reducing traffic speeds and modifying driver behaviour.
“Unfortunately Cheshire West and Chester Council, despite recognising the benefits of lower speeds for vulnerable highway users, have left it to local lobbying on a street by street basis to implement 20 mph speed limits.
“This is not only costly in terms of councillor, officer and council time to deal with but is wasteful as areas across the borough gradually are included in the lower speed areas, since signage is put up and then changed as areas change. Not only that, but sporadic and piecemeal 20 mph limit areas do not have a great effect on driver behaviour either.”
