Slow down (traffic) to speed up (cycling)

This Wednesday sees the first session of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group's (APPCG) "Get Britain Cycling" inquiry.  As the Guardian correspondent, Peter Walker, highlights there has been a lot of chatter about how Britain has become a nation of cyclists following Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France and the great cycling performances by Team GB in the Olympics.

Except, as the article illustratess, this is not the case. "Exclude racing or tourism and Britons are near the bottom of just about every European cycling ranking. Just 2.2% of people use a bike as their main means of transport, lower than all but a handful of EU nations such as Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus.Other statistics are equally damning. About 2% of British children ride to school, compared with 40% in Denmark and 20% in Sweden." 

One of the key reasons given by people who would like to cycle but who currently do not is that they do not feel safe cycling because of the speed of traffic on the roads. Research from Portland (USA) identified that some 60% of adults are in this "interested, but concerned" category. Have not seen any similar research from the UK, but from personal experience would consider that a similar proportion of people would fall into this category.

Manchester City Council agreed  on 1st February 2012 that Council officers would produce a report for the Council Executive on the "feasibility of installing a city-wide 20mph limit on residential roads, excluding major routes as appropriate." 

In March 2012, this report was submitted to the Communities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The report recommended that Manchester Council should:

"investigate potential funding mechanisms to implement 20mph speed limits on all C and U classed roads in Manchester with a view to installing the proposed speed limits, subject to public consultation"  and  would "commission further analysis of speed and accident data and preliminary consultation to determine which roads would be most appropriate for 20mph speed limits or 20mph zones. Data analysis and site surveys would inform which areas should be subject to the preliminary public consultation."

Not a lot has been heard publicly on this issue since then - although Manchester City Council did announce on 18th October 2012 that:

"Buses are to drive at 20 miles per hour within the city centre under a new voluntary code of conduct for operators. All bus companies running services into the city centre are expected to sign up to the CityPLAN agreement which means drivers will stick to the limit within the inner ring road - and drive at 10mph or less in busy locations such as Parker Street, Oldham Street and Shudehill Interchange. The move comes as Manchester City Council looks into ways of creating more 20 mile per hour zones across the city, and is expected to improve safety, especially for pedestrians and cyclists." 

Which is a step forward for the City Centre area but there is a need to reduce traffic speeds in all residential areas in Greater Manchester to help encourage people to walk and cycle more.

Many local councils have argued that there are too many 'enforcement' and 'legal' barriers to introducing 20mph default speed limits and therefore it is too difficult or costly. However, on 18th January 2013, Stephen Hammond, Transport Minister told Parliament in a written statement that the new Department for Transport (DfT) guidance “incorporates recent changes that create more flexibility for [local] authorities to implement 20mph limits and zones.”

This new guidance encourages 20mph  limits in a number of ways :-

• It identifies as priority for action that “Traffic authorities are asked to keep their speed limits under review with changing circumstances, and to consider the introduction of more 20 mph limits and zones, over time, in urban areas and built-up village streets that are primarily residential, to ensure greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, using the criteria in Section 6.” (para 12)

• It recognises the importance of the “composition of road users (including existing and potential levels of vulnerable road users)” as a key factor that needs to be taken into account. (para 30).

• It recognises that “Fear of traffic can affect peoples’ quality of life and the needs of vulnerable road users must be fully taken into account in order to further encourage these modes of travel and improve their safety. Speed management strategies should seek to protect local community life.” (para 32)

The guidance also highlights how:

"There is clear evidence of the effect of reducing traffic speeds on the reduction of collisions and casualties, as collision frequency is lower at lower speeds; and where collisions do occur, there is a lower risk of fatal injury at lower speeds. Research shows that on urban roads with low average traffic speeds any 1 mph reduction in average speed can reduce the collision frequency by around 6% (Taylor, Lynam and Baruya, 2000). There is also clear evidence confirming the greater chance of survival of pedestrians in collisions at lower speeds."


Traffic speed limits in residential areas affect everyone, not only as car drivers and passengers, but also as pedestrians, cyclists and residents. They also impact of people's quality of life, the environment and the local economy.

Lets hope that the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group inquiry can help encourage national government and local authorities to take bolder steps on reducing traffic speeds in residential areas.

Manchester City Council has some great opportunities to start implementing area-wide 20mph speed limits with the upcoming Oxford Road corridor consultation and the Brunswick redevelopment plans.


It would also be great to see other Greater Manchester local authorities start implementing this too.  If you know of any good local examples please leave a comment.

See also Bike Biz article "DfT issues robust new guidance on getting drivers to slow down."

PS. You can follow the APPCG inquiry via the website or Twitter @allpartycycling