Amsterdam Rewards Safe Car Drivers With Money For The Neighborhood

Courtesy of the Pop-up City website comes this lovely idea to encourage drivers to drive below the 30kmh (20mph) speed limit...

"Spotted in Spaarndammerstraat in Amsterdam: A speedometer that indicates your speed and additionally gives you a money counter. 

What’s the deal? Each car that passes and stays below the speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour raises €0,03 for the neighborhood.


The money is paid out by the city of Amsterdam and is meant to be used in local community projects. 

The city’s slogan: “Max 30 — Save for the Neighborhood”. An interesting take on conditioning local residents to bring forth good citizenship instead of punishing car drivers for breaking minor traffic laws when being slightly over the speed limit."

Now wouldn't that be nice in Manchester......


 

Slower Speeds for Safer Streets (UN Global Road Safety week: 6th - 12th May)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Road Safety Week runs from 6th to 12th May 2013 and is dedicated to pedestrian safety around the world.  One of the key recommendations in UN report on pedestrian safety is for 20mph (30kmh) speed limits in residential areas and those areas with large numbers of vulnerable road users.

The 20's Plenty for Us campaign is urging people across Europe to call on Europe's leading politicians to make 20mph the normal residential speed. 

Please sign the petition and ask your friends, family and neighbours to sign up too.

Let's build a 20,000 strong voice to EU leaders now.

Why this is important.

Thousands of people have died or been injured in avoidable collisions on residential streets. Road crash is the top cause of avoidable death for our 5-30 year olds.  We say “20’s Plenty where people live”.  The European Union could make lower residential speed limits normal and protect us from avoidable danger and suffering.  Road Safety Week spotlights this crisis, making it crucial to sign up now.

Everyone, whatever age or level of health, should be able to walk along their home street without fear.  Up to third of United Kingdom local councils are implementing 20mph limits, or seriously considering it.  

But it’s a postcode lottery. April saw a cross party committee of MPs insist that 20mph limits for residential roads is essential to Get Britain Cycling.  Experts and European politicians are calling for immediate action. Speed is greed when it prevents the vulnerable from getting around. If we build a huge petition now, we can push the European Commission to put our health and environment first before the selfish drivers and road lobby and prevent rat running.

We know our voices count!  Over 11million people in the UK already live in places committed to 20mph limits without humps. We need 20,000 signatures in a week to persuade the EU to help us defend our rights to slower speeds where people live.

Now the issue is coming to a boil. EU politicians are stepping up pressure on the European Commission to push new laws on slower speeds. We can offer them the public support they need against the powerful roads lobby. Sign this urgent petition to Europe’s leaders, then ask your friends, family and neighbours to support this call.
 

PS. Here is a short (68 second) video on the European Citizens Initiative for 20mph urban limits and how you can sign the petition .

Tell your council you love 20mph

Higher speeds kill more people... slower speeds kill less...  you might think this is obvious but many driving commentators and local councillors don't seem to get it.

Yet, a report published by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2010 'Relationship between Speed and Risk of Fatal Injury: Pedestrians and Car Occupants' clearly highlights that as speeds reduce, your chances of survival if you are hit by a vehicle increase dramatically. (See graph to the left).

If you are hit by a car at 35 mph, your chance of survival is 50%.  At 20 mph, your chance of survival leaps to 97%.


20 mph is a much safer speed - a study into 20 mph zones in London found that casualties fell by an average of 42%.  Reducing traffic speeds on our streets is the single biggest measure that will make them safer, more vibrant and social places.

20mph should be the standard speed limit for most streets in built-up areas.  Local authorities now have the power to introduce 20 mph limits on streets where we live, work and shop.


So what's happening in Greater Manchester?
 
Wigan Council are leading the field in Greater Manchester. Wigan Council has pledged to make the borough’s roads safer by introducing a 20 mph speed limit in more residential areas so that all residents, particularly children and young people, are able to walk, cycle and feel safe on our streets. The introduction of a 20 mph speed limit will improve road safety, saving lives and preventing serious injuries.

In February 2012, Manchester City Council accepted support a motion which stated that "This Council believes: that the implementation of a city-wide speed limit of 20mph on all non-major residential roads, combined with a public information campaign and innovative

inexpensive traffic calming, would have an immediate beneficial impact on accidents and fatalities in the City."  The Council voted to"direct[s] officers to produce a report for the Executive on the feasibility of implementing a city-wide 20mph limit on all residential roads, excluding major routes as appropriate."

Unfortunately, there seems to be little progress to date - but better than many of the other Councils in Greater Manchester.  For example, in March 2012, the Trafford Liberal Democrats submitted a motion which requested Trafford Council to:

1. Instruct Officers to initiate a feasibility study to implement more 20mph speed limits within Trafford for residential roads.

2. Recommend that the focus for 20mph speed limits be around schools and shopping areas.
 
3. Introduce public consultation, to ensure open and transparent public involvement for making decisions on 20mph in Trafford, through the existing democratic structures.

Shamefully, the Conservative led Trafford Council voted to reject this motion.

A 20 mph speed limit can...

• Increase road safety by reducing the risk and severity of collisions
• Get more people walking and cycling, and create more social and liveable streets
• Cut pollution from exhaust fumes
• Smooth traffic-flow by reducing stop-start driving
• Reduce traffic noise.

So what can I do about it?

Why not show your council that you love 20mph.  Living Streets have designed a very simple email action to send that message to your council. 

Join a local Living Streets or 20s Plenty for Us group that are campaigning for 20mph default speed limits where people live.  

No local group near you?  Why not invite your neighbours and friends round for tea and start your own local group.

Contact your local councillor or Member of Parliament and ask them what they are doing to support slower speeds in your neighbourhood.  Those lovely people at Write to Them make it very easy to contact your local representatives.

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

20’s Plenty is green

It’s a popular misconception that fuel efficiency peaks at 50-60mph. However, What Car magazine found that for many cars 20mph was the most efficient speed.  In urban conditions 20mph beats 30mph for saving fuel. 20mph limits mean less acceleration and braking. Walking and cycling increase. 

Britain suffers from excessive speeds and volumes of motorised traffic, which affects our environment, climate and health. Traffic brings pollution, congestion, noise and degrades the built environment. Road transport contributes one-fifth of the UK's total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the main greenhouse gas. Road transport CO₂ increased nearly 23% between 1990 and 2010. Transport is the only sector where greenhouse gas emissions are rising.

When 30km/h (18.6mph) zones were introduced in Germany, car drivers changed gear 12% less often, braked 14% less often and required 12% less fuel. This implies 20mph limits without humps can cut residential transport emissions by 12%. Traffic smoothes, gaps between cars shorten, it’s easier to merge and there’s less idling with dangerously concentrated pollutants. Limits either speed up trip times due to smoother traffic, or do not significantly affect times from origin to destination. 

Some people are afraid to walk or cycle.  20mph limits improve fairness in sharing the public space of roads between vulnerable users and traffic. Bristol found 20mph increased walking 23% and cycling 20.5%. Traffic reduction could cut another 5-10% of fuel use.  This all helps drivers to save money, reduce pollution and conserve our dwindling reserves of liquid fuels like oil and diesel.

With 20mph limits it’s easier and safer to reach local amenities. This helps keep nearby shops viable - with important accessibility and mixed use planning benefits.  20mph supports local facilities and jobs in the face of competition from edge of town developments or e-shopping. Those without a car, the elderly, disabled, families or on foot or cycling are more likely to frequent and enjoy local and convenience stores for longer, strengthening their community and making their lives more sustainable and resilient.

20mph is up to 40% quieter than 30mph, making urban areas more pleasant. People can more easily talk and play outside which raises health and neighbourliness and reduces crime. An additional eco benefit includes less need for road signage lighting as this is not required on many warning signs in a 20mph limit.

Environmental groups supporting wide 20mph limits include: Friends of the Earth; CPRE; Campaign for Better Transport; The Conservation Volunteers; Environmental Protection UK; Chartered Institute of Environmental Health; CTC the national cyclists’ organisation; Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges; Ramblers’ Association; Sustainable Development Commission; ETA Trust; Transform Scotland; Sustrans; Living Streets; The Liberal Democrat and Green Parties; Stockholm Environment Institute and more.

A 20’s Plenty for Us Briefing, October 2012.

Vote for Cycling!

In the run up to the local council elections on 6th May, Love Your Bike and Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign (GMCC) invited local council election candidates in every ward to complete a cycling issues survey which asked the candidates to respond to five questions:

• How often do you cycle?

• Do you support the introduction of 20mph speed limits in all residential areas such as the “20s Plenty for us” schemes as introduced in Portsmouth, Newcastle, Oxford, Warrington and Wirral? 

• Would you support your local council providing free adult cycle training to people who live/work in your local authority area?

• Do you think that people should be able to travel with bicycles on Metrolink during off-peak travel times?

• What policies does your party have to encourage more people to cycle to work, school, shopping or for leisure purposes?

A more detailed report is available on the Love Your Bike website but the key findings are shown below:

•  Top of the poll for the proportion of candidates responding were the Green Party (43%) followed by the Liberal Democrats (16.5%), Labour Party (11.5%) and Conservative Party (2.9%).

• The highest turnout figures from candidates were in Trafford (25.84%), Manchester (24%) and Stockport (21.6%).  The lowest turnout was in Oldham (1.3%).

• The survey results indicate that local election candidates in Greater Manchester cycle more often than the average person in the North West.

• Over 90% of the local council election candidates who responded supported the 20mph speed limit in residential areas. There were high levels of support from most political parties: Green (97%), Liberal Democrat (96.8%) and Labour (88%). The majority of the Conservative Party candidates (60%) also supported this policy.

• Of the local council election candidates who responded, over 90% supported local councils providing free adult cycle training. With high levels of support from most political parties: Green (97.2%), Liberal Democrat (93.1%) and Labour (91.3%).  Only 33% of Conservative candidates supported this idea.

• Despite being a potential ‘hot potato’ issue for local council election candidates given the recent decisions by the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) regarding bicycle carriage on Metrolink trams - the survey results indicated that there was support for cycle carriage on off-peak trams across all political parties and Council areas: Green (100%), Labour (95.8%), Liberal Democrat (86.7%) and Conservative (66.7%).

Love Your Bike and Greater Manchester Cycling campaign have thanked all the local council election candidates who responded to the survey and have stated that they "would welcome the opportunity to work with local councillors to improve cycling infrastructure and facilities and to increase the number of people cycling in Greater Manchester."