Twenty is Plenty: Lib Dems' fact-finding mission

3.15.10pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 11th Aug 2008

Liberal Democrats in Bath & North East Somerset are continuing their call for 20mph speed limits to apply on residential roads within the authority. As part of this campaign Councillors Neil Butters (Bathavon South), Paul Crossley (Southdown) and Caroline Roberts (Newbridge) recently visited the City of Portsmouth, where 20mph limits have been introduced on almost all of the residential roads.

Cllrs Paul Crossley, Caroline Roberts and Neil Butters visited Portsmouth to see how the scheme had been implemented

They found that the 20mph scheme is popular and appreciated by the vast majority of residents - the Council said they had received only 7 objections to the policy. It is improving road safety; cycling and walking are increasing; and the environment has improved.

Councillor Crossley commented, "The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on this for our area and so far we have met with a stone wall from the Conservatives. What Portsmouth has shown that this is easy to implement and is popular.

"While the narrow Victorian streets of Portsmouth lend themselves particularly well to the lower limit, there are still numerous roads in our authority where 20mph limits would be sensible."

Councillor Caroline Roberts said, "With the lower limit, pedestrians in particular feel safer. I know from speaking to residents just how many are concerned about the speed of traffic in their road - Portsmouth have shown that something can be done about it. We have to respond in a similar fashion to make our communities safer places to live."

Councillor Butters added, "This scheme is not only applicable to cities but is equally important for our villages and towns. Of course, implementation will be different to Portsmouth, as we don't have narrow Victorian streets, but our residents want the same results: safer speeds in their communities. I am pleased that some of the villages in my ward already have 20 mph limits. However, some are advisory only. We also need to think carefully about the issue of enforcement, and self-enforcement.

"The safety aspect is crucial and is supported by the British Medical Association (BMA). A child hit at 30mph has an almost 50% chance of dying, at 20mph this drops to just 5%."

You can join the Liberal Democrats calling on the Council to implement 20mph limits on our most residential roads by signing the on-line petition at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/twentyisplenty