Agenda item

(Report of the Interim Chief Operating Officer. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Environment). The report outlines the feedback received from consultation with residents and businesses to gauge support for Haringey to become a 20mph borough and proposes plans for the implementation of this.

Cabinet considered a report, introduced by the Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Stuart McNamara, which set out the feedback received from consultation with residents and businesses to gauge support for Haringey to become a 20mph borough and that also set out plans for the implementation of this.

Councillor McNamara thanked residents and local groups for the contributions that they had made as part of the consultation process and noted the support received for the implementation of a 20mph limit on residential roads and roads with schools.

RESOLVED:

1. That the results of the public consultation, outlined in the report, be noted;

2. That authorisation be given to officers to proceed to detailed design and implementation of a 20 mph limit on residential roads in the vicinity of schools and in town centres; and

3. That approval of the detailed design and decisions relating to changes to Traffic Management Orders be delegated to the Assistant Director Environmental Services and Community Safety, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment. 

Alternative options considered

The Council had the option of doing nothing, of implementing a borough wide 20mph limit on all roads (exempt roads on the TLRN), or proceeding as proposed in the report. These options were all considered within the report.  

Reasons for decision

The feedback from the public was mixed although it was generally acknowledged that a 20mph limit for our residential roads, particularly around schools, was a positive way forward.

The main area of opposition appeared to be the need for a blanket approach to include the main roads. It was felt that the main roads, which were mostly wide and straight, were suitable for a 30mph and that a reduction to 20mph would increase journey times and congestion. As with all speed limits, if the site does not look like or feel like the limit imposed then there would be larger scale offending. Reports of non-compliance along Islington’s main roads, particularly at night when traffic is light, provides a good example of why further investigation was required prior to determining if all main roads were suitable.  

The majority of collisions (accidents) in Haringey occur on the main roads, particularly in the vicinity of town centres, as this is where the potential conflict between pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles is greatest. This must be considered a priority when determining the appropriateness of speed limit.

The Roads Task Force considered the 20mph debate and concluded that a ‘one cap fits all approach’ was not practicable. A ‘street family’ was developed comprising of nine road types based on functionality and usage to reflect the complexity of London’s street environment. Speed limits play an important role where ‘movement and place’ need to be better balanced, where there are high levels of pedestrian activity and where safety issues have been identified. This approach should be adopted to determine the feasibility of introducing a 20mph for Haringey’s main roads. For example, where 20mph would be suitable for Wood Green High Road as its function is a town centre attracting high numbers of pedestrians and cyclists, a 20mph limit may not be suitable for Watermead Way, which provides more of a movement function for motorists.

General compliance of a 20mph limit is essential to the success of this initiative. The Metropolitan Police, whilst supporting the initiative, do not have the resource to provide additional enforcement and therefore police enforcement will be mainly reactive and concentrate at locations where safety is compromised. Haringey has provided the SNT with five speed guns to deliver enforcement exercises and a partnership approach needs to be developed with the Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) to deliver joint initiatives to educate the public, particularly at vulnerable locations such as schools and town centres.

Compliance will only be achieved if sufficient interventions are provided with regards to signing and, more importantly, traffic calming / management at locations where speed may remain high. It is likely that compliance along the main roads, outside of town centres, will be low as movement is the main function. Consideration would therefore need to be given to engineer a limit, which could have significant cost implications and limited impact subject to what measures would be consider appropriate.  

The success of our Smarter Travel and Community Street programmes, along with our continued investment in cycling and walking, provides us with the opportunity to increase sustainable travel throughout the borough. Through these programmes we need to focus on educating all roads users on the importance of road safety to achieve a cultural change to the present dominance of motor vehicles, thereby securing health, wellbeing and safety benefits for all. This includes education for cyclists who are often just as guilt of using the road inappropriately. 

In summary, it is recommended that the Cabinet approve for officers to proceed with introducing a 20mph limit for all residential roads and in the vicinity of schools. Further consider should also be given to introducing a 20mph limit at town centre locations.

Based on the feedback received and compliance issues that may arise, it is recommended, with the exception of town centre locations, not to proceed with a 20mph limit on our main roads at the present time.  We should however continue to monitor analysis and reviews of 20mph limits along main roads and keep an open mind for future possible inclusion.