20 mph set to be extended as figures show it’s safer
Fewer road collisions are happening in Brighton & Hove streets where 20mph limits have been introduced.
Meanwhile the majority of residents consulted about extending the limits to new areas of the city supported the idea.
The council has monitored collisions and casualties from the Phase 1 area of 20mph limits, in central Brighton & Hove, introduced in April 2013.
The figures are lower than the three-year average for the area. There was a 17 per cent drop in collisions. The average was 318 collisions a year, whereas under 20mph the figure went down to 264.
The average number of casualties was 371 per year from 2010-2013. With the introduction of a 20mph speed limit it dropped to 327 – a reduction of 12 per cent. There was a 20 per cent reduction in serious casualties, down from an average of 53 to 43.
On average Brighton & Hove saw one person a year killed on the roads in the Phase 1 area. With 20mph limits there have been no road deaths.
The figures are detailed in a report to the council’s next environment, transport and sustainability committee on November 25.
The report also recommends that councillors move forward with the next stage of statutory consultation on Phase 3 20mph limits, outside central Brighton & Hove, in those places where most residents support it.
Figures for residents’ supporting 20mph on the street where they live were: Mile Oak 60 per cent, Hangleton 53, Rottingdean and Ovingdean 69 and Saltdean 51. In Woodingdean as a whole the figure was 48 per cent. The speed limit is however proposed to be reduced to 20mph in streets north of Warren Road and west of Falmer Road, because 61 per cent of residents in this specific part of the village expressed support for it. A stretch of Warren Road adjacent to the cemetery is proposed to be reduced to 30mph from 40mph by popular demand.
In Saltdean lower limits are, in response to the consultation feedback, proposed only around the school and park roads and in Hangleton, roads to the east of Hangleton Way will retain their existing limits, again in response to consultation feedback from that area.
On Hove seafront 20mph will be introduced on Medina Terrace, King’s Esplanade, Sussex Street and St Aubyns, after 63 per cent of residents expressed support.
Committee chair Cllr Pete West said: “We’re getting increasing support on 20mph from residents who feel it makes, or will make, their streets safer, more pleasant places to live. This is for the simple reason that you or your children are far more likely to survive being hit by a car at 20mph than you are at 30mph. Now, we also have the figures from Phase 1 showing it makes streets safer. Interestingly, support was highest in areas with pre-existing 20mph limits - Rottingdean and Portslade village. That shows residents are seeing first-hand the positive impacts lower speeds can bring for safety and quality of life.”
You can read the full report in the environment, transport and sustainability committee papers, starting at page 61.