On Tuesday 11 January the 20 is Plenty Executive of North Yorkshire.
The first item of the agenda for the first County Executive Meeting for 2022 is a discussion to update 20mph policy but falls short of 20s Plenty call for a default 20mph policy to be implemented across the County.
See https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/live-meetings to follow the live meeting.
See https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1147&MId=4499&Ver=4 for the agenda
- 20’s Plenty for Us is ‘not for profit’ with 500 local groups campaigning to make cities, towns and villages around the world better places to be
- They are campaigning for a speed limit of 20mph to be normal on residential streets and in town and village centres, unless full consideration of the needs of vulnerable road users allows a higher limit on particular streets
Ian Conlan, Malton resident from the local branch group 20s Plenty for North Yorkshire, said:
North Yorkshire County Councillors need to listen to their voters, who want default 20mph where people and motors mix, including main roads. Default 20mph has been repeatedly delivered in authorities up and down the country in a cost-effective way, reducing accidents, noise, pollution and fear so that children and adults alike can cross and use the road safely where they live, play, work, shop and learn.
As we move toward Unitary authority, there is much that can be achieved by working closely with parishes, who would like a policy where 20mph is normal, instead of one whose rules make 20mph impossible to achieve across their communities. Our message to County Councillors is: Please don’t ignore 56 parish councils who voted for this, and the 70% of voters who support this in surveys, the people you represent. 30mph is not safe.
Accidents don’t necessarily happen any more at the 30mph than they do at 20mph. Many accidents in urban situations where 30mph speed limits are in force happen at 20mph or less as they tend to happen more at junctions and traffic lights.
Requiring vehicles with engines to run at a lower speed does not equate to less pollution or noise. Vehicles forced to run slower need to select lower gears to maintain engine rpm and at the same time may take longer to travel the same distance. Increasing pollution whilst making more noise for longer.
Living in a street where there is a 20 limit (and disintegrating unmaintained road humps) I can honestly state that it would be better without hearing vehicles driving around in low gears and banging up and down speed bumps (which they inevitably scrape as well). Not only that but they don’t keep below that 20 limit between the speed humps, not a one! So while people may say they want a 20 limit – not only are their reasons based on incorrect assumptions, but no-one actually wants to abide by the limit where it is in force!
The whole idea of the ’20 is plenty’ groups (all 500) is lobbying power. If it was such a genuinely popular idea there would be 5000 groups – look at the actual membership numbers of these groups. They are a great advert for the power of actually lobbying politicians. Don’t look to surveys – what people say they want when asked and how they actually act are not the same thing.