All posts in the topic 20 m.p.h. limits in Oxford (Short link)
Summary
- There are 14 posts — by 8 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Julia Gasper at Sep 08 07:08 UTC
Lots of people are in favour of 20 mph limits in "residential" streets. I'd be
interested to know how many people feel that it would be cheaper and easier to
bring in such a limit on ALL the roads in the City. It would be cheaper because
we wouldn't need so many signs. It would be easier because we would all find it
easier to remember the speed limit.
It's also true, of course that virtually every street in Oxford is residential.
Some drivers fear that their journeys would take much longer. I organised an
experiment in which two cars travelled down some of the main roads setting out
together from the ring road and going to the city centre, one at 30 mph and the
other at 20 mph. The difference in journey times was just a few seconds.
I'd be interested to know people's views on whether we should be asking the
County Council to bring in a 20 mph limit on all streets rather than following
their current piecemeal approach.
Interesting thought. Here's a simple web survey where list members can agree or disagree with Susanna's proposal: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2fz_2bKW2s32imEe_2bZpX5XrDg_3d_3d
Excellent idea, no confusion, less signs and safer for all.
By the way, twelve members of the list have responded to the online
survey so far, with eleven in favour of the proposal and one against.
One respondent commented that "there should be 20mph speed limit" but
that this should be lifted to "30mph between 11pm and 7am on major
roads, e.g. Botley Road". What do other people think?
The Botley Road is still a residential area and I feel that Susanna's
"experiment" showed that the time saved between 20 mph and 30 mph is minimal.
I believe that the less complicated the proposal is the more chance it will
have of success. Time Zones will only add to debate and therefore delay.
Whilst I agree that any proposal has to be simple and workable, I think that
there's a case for having a higher limit at night (say, 7pm to 7am) - I suspect
that people would be more inclind to accept this kind of arrangement. We
already have time-limited traffic restrictions in the High Street, so it
wouldn't be anything new.
One benefit of a 20 mph (whether daytime or 24hr) is that it might encourage
some drivers away from shortcuts through urban areas and on to the Ring Road.
In any case, this must be worth trying.
Judging by the comments on the article in the Oxford Mail not everyone supports this move: http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2338637.0.twenty_really_is_plenty.php#comments
As a cyclist, I very much dislike some of the methods use to slow cars down.
The islands in the middle of Divinity Road for instance, and the perilous
speed-bumps which are designed to break any eggs you might be carrying, at the
very least, if they don't actually lurch you off your bike.
I do not see how it is possible to distinguish between "residential" and other
streets. I lived for twenty years on Windmill Road, which is narrow and lined
with houses on both sides but nobody called it a residential street. They
thought it was OK to designate it a main road and send all the cars, buses and
heavy lorries down it. Other people live in much wider roads yet they are
deemed to be "residential". Who decides whether you are residing somewhere or
merely living there?
The official consultation by the Oxfordshire County Council is linked from its website front page: http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ (the site does not seem to allow deep-linking).
Full details of the 20mph proposals and consultation are available here: http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/20limits
We can be sure that the outcome of this pubic consultation will be just as
democratic as the outcomes of consultation were regarding the introduction of
parking charges in Headington, or indeed the felling of the trees in Bonn
Square. In other words, whatever the public says, the city council and county
council will bulldoze ahead with the plans they are determined to enforce.
What we have under Oxford's Lib-Lab Council (and under the EU) is phoney
democracy. Anybody who is not yet aware that must be pretty naive.