A Winchmore Hill resident has launched a campaign for a 20mph speed limit on two roads which lead to Winchmore Hill Green - Church Hill on the western side and Station Road to the east.
Philip Tsappas held a public meeting to launch his campaign in November and has now released additional campaigning literature (see below). He is linking this local campaign with the national 20's Plenty for Us movement, which seeks to make 20mph the default speed limit on residential and urban streets.
20's Plenty for Winchmore Hill!
Currently, in the borough of Enfield, 'less than 10% of our roads are 20mph' zones, compared to Islington and Camden council which have adopted 20mph on all borough roads!
Let's bring 30mph zones down to 20mph. Why? Well, if you're...
- Hit by a car at 40 mph, 9 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed
- Hit by a car at 30 mph, about half of pedestrians will live
- Hit by a car at 20 mph, only 1 pedestrian out of 10 will be killed
Roads are the biggest killer of children as pedestrians (5-19 years old), and young adults as passengers or drivers of cars.
Deaths of children aged 11-16 not attributed to disease
In Portsmouth the 20mph limit on all residential roads has reduced casualties by 22%. Imagine a drug which reduced the mortality of a particular cause by just 4.3%, and it was a major cause, one would probably expect the Noble Prize for Medicine.
The campaign 20's Plenty For Us is connected to a national voluntary group where local groups have sprung up to improve their surroundings etc., councillors have begun listening to over 240 local groups from around the country.
Councillors will need to be convinced of evidence that 20mph limits work in other areas, In Burnley, Lancashire, the pilot scheme to introduce 20 mph resulted in this statistical release:
"...the overall figures fell from 46 casualties a year, with six deaths and serious injuries, to 25, with two deaths and serious injuries, and no child deaths and serious injuries."
And at almost the same time in Newcastle upon Tyne it was reported that: "The number of car-related accidents on Newcastle's residential streets has dropped by more than half in some areas of the city following the Council's introduction of 20mph speed limits"
Do remember, it was 80 years ago when there were less than two million cars on the road that 30 mph was implemented on urban roads. Now there are over 33 million. This change of speed limit is long overdue!
To be clear, this is NOT about: Speed cameras! Road humps! The Department for Transport have made it clear in recent guidelines that:
20 mph zones require traffic calming measures or repeater speed limit signing and/or roundel road markings at regular intervals.
It is no longer mandatory to impose physical measures such as speed bumps when adopting a 20 mph limit in residential areas (DfT Guidelines). The one thing we would like done immediately by Enfield council, so as to begin to feel the effects straight away, is to replace the 30mph signs with 20mph ones. Easily done and very cost effective we think!
Also, a traffic island would clearly help with gaining access to St Paul's Church which is in daily use - just as the pedestrians crossing outside Groveland's Park (on Church Hill) has proved essential.
This campaign is looking to bring the 20mph limit to Church Hill and Station Road in Winchmore Hill. We had our first meeting on the 16th of November where we agreed to raise awareness when and where we can.
The campaign 20's plenty For Us aims to save lives and help create a safer, calmer and cleaner environment for all ages.
To get involved and/or for more information please contact Phil: or 07446 188 307.
