20mph Speed Limits in Oxford City (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

20mph Speed Limits in Oxford City

April 23, 2009 11:00 AM
By Cllr Alan Armitage in Cabinet Member for Transport - decisions meeting

I am speaking as county council representative for the area containing the largest existing 20 mph zone in the county - that is, the area containing Walton Manor, Jericho, Little Clarendon Street and the Waterside estate to the west of the Oxford canal.

I very much welcome the proposal to extend the 20 mph zone to cover most residential streets in the city, and I concur with those who say it is a brave and innovative decision, and will reduce injuries and associated misery caused by traffic accidents.

However, I can tell you from experience that introducing 20 mph limits does throw up a lot of new issues, in particular those of enforcement. I have raised the issue time and again with the police on the three Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAGs) which I attend, and with the Chief Constable for Thames Valley, and with other senior police officers on every possible occasion. Other councillors have done the same, in particular Cllr Zoe Patrick, who is a member of the Thames Valley Police Authority.

As things stand, the police say officially that they will not enforce 20 mph limits - so even when the public tell their local NAG that it's one of their top three priorities (which supposedly should require the police to take some action) the official response is to just ignore them.

The Oxford Times report today is quite accurate, and it looks as if the police attitude is now only likely to change as a result of action by central government.

However, in the short term, the county council should be looking at the signage, since when the police have stopped vehicles speeding in my division (because I kicked up such a fuss), they were told by even local residents that they were not aware that there was a 20 mph limit in place.

I would strongly advocate the use of roundels on the road surface, at the entrance to the 20 mph zones. They are much more visible than the small roadside signs, and do not add to the roadside clutter. The council officers have given me a range of different reasons at different times as to why the council opposes use of roundels. But they were all blown out of the water, in my view, when roundels were used successfully in the 20 mph zone on the Cowley Road.

So please do go ahead with the 20 mph proposals, but make it clear that there will be widespread use of roundels, so that drivers' excuses for going too fast are reduced to a minimum.