Brighton introduces 20mph speed limit

Date: 16/1/2013

Brighton has become the latest city in Britain to introduce a 20 mile per hour speed limit, which covers most shopping and residential streets in the city centre.

The scheme is to be extended over the next four years to cover the majority of Brighton and Hove at a cost of £1.5 million, reports the Independent.

This will make the initiative one of the most far-reaching in the country, but will exclude the main routes in and out of the city, which will continue to have 30 mile per hour limits.

Councillor Ian Davey, Chair of the Transport Committee, said that the measure was designed to create safer roads and make the quality of life of those living in Brighton better.

He told the news provider: "We are delighted this important scheme has been given the green light."

Brighton is likely to be joined by more cities with a 20 mile per hour restriction in the future as the Independent recently found that up to a third of local authorities are contemplating bringing in the measure.

So far Liverpool, Bristol, York, Oxford, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and parts of London have all introduced the policy to slow down traffic.

Sixty per cent of the public now support such initiatives, according to a survey carried out by ComRes into the popularity of this type of scheme.

Local authorities are being encouraged by the government to use their powers to improve road safety and the quality of life of their constituents.

A European Union petition is currently looking to gain signatures from one million people to show that they support the introduction of a 20 mile per hour speed limit in all 27 member states.

Safety campaigners, environmentalists and community organisations across the continent are backing the effort, meaning that slower speeds may become more common in cities and built-up areas in the future.

They hope that the introduction of such a speed limit will be mandatory from next year.

Posted by Sarah Bailey

Transport Research News and Vehicle Safety News