Transport for London (TfL) are working with London Boroughs to implement 20mph speed limits in the capital, as well as piloting 20mph speed limits on parts of the Transport for London Road Network.
This has been met with support from road safety charities, who believe that more needs to be done to keep residents safe, as almost half the deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads are caused by vehicles travelling at inappropriate speeds according to TfL.
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), believes that while 20mph zones can reduce speeding, they might also encourage residents not to use the roads at all.
He said: “They can help to encourage walking and cycling and improve air quality by reducing pollution.
“RoSPA believes that 20mph speed limits should be targeted at roads that are primarily residential in nature and streets where pedestrian and cyclist movements are high, or potentially high, such as around schools, shops, markets, playgrounds and other areas.”
A petition for 20mph speed limits to be enforced in Merton has, at the time of writing, gained 509 signatures on change.org.
Councillor Daniel Holden, Conservative Spokesman for Transport, Parking and Cleaner Streets, said: “We are broadly supportive of the aims of the petition, in particular putting in 20mph limits by nurseries/schools and in residential roads where residents want them.
“We have actively lobbied the council and TfL over the years for improved and new pedestrian crossings, such as on Durnsford road and Leopold roads which are on key walking routes to local primary schools.
“We know that these measures reduce accidents and injury.”
Recent research from the University of the West of England shows that since the introduction of 20mph limits on roads in Bristol in 2014, four lives a year have been saved and 170 injuries prevented.
However, not all motorists agree with the limits on would have a positive impact on the roads.
Roger Lawson, campaign director at the Alliance of British Drivers (ABD), said: “Wide area, signed-only speed limits are a waste of money.
“They have minimal impact on casualty numbers, and the reduction in speeds is insignificant – about 1 mph which is not noticeable.
“The money spent on them would be much better spent on other road safety measures.”
Former London black cab driver Peter, 60, said: “It’s a waste of time.”
