“20 is plenty for safer streets” say Oldham Liberal Democrats

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Opposition have tabled proposals for safer residential streets across Oldham in a Full Council meeting later this month.  The Liberal Democrat motion calls for a roll-out of 20mph zones on the Borough’s residential roads. 

Saddleworth West and Lees representative councillor Mark Kenyon, who will move the motion on December 13^th said, “More than half of all accident casualties occur on roads with 30mph limits.  A pedestrian is seven times more likely to die if they are hit by a vehicle travelling at 30mph than they are at 20mph.  And it is the elderly and young who are most at risk.”

Shaw Liberal Democrat councillor Hazel Gloster said, “Safer communities is a top priority for our residents.  People want to see the Council take action to make it safer to get about.  It’s about getting the basics right.”

The Liberal Democrats have consistently backed campaigns aimed at improving road safety, most notably with the “20 is Plenty” campaign for reduced speed limits on residential streets. 

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader and Leader of Oldham Council’s main opposition group councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “Speed limits are just one tool available to the Council.  We also want to see more speed cameras, and preferably ones that actually work.  The minority of people who make our streets unsafe should be prosecuted.”

“We have brought motions to Council in the past and we have asked numerous questions of every Council Leader we’ve had over the last few years.  It shouldn’t take serious incidents or even fatalities before the Council’s Leadership starts to listen.  Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for safer streets until meaningful action is taken.”   

More from Oldham Liberal Democrats on safer streets:

Support for change on speed cameras is a start, but 20s plenty is still needed – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

20’s Plenty for Us in 2020 – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

Liberal Democrat Alternative Budget 2023/24 tonight meeting of Oldham Council – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

Liberal Democrat Motion in full:

Motion: 20 is plenty

Proposed by: Councillor Mark Kenyon
Seconded by: Councillor Hazel Gloster

Council notes that:

• Speed limits on Britain’s Roads are 60% higher than in Europe.
• More than half of all accident casualties occur on roads with 30mph limits.
• A pedestrian is 7 times more likely to die if they are hit by a vehicle travelling at 30mph than they are at 20mph, rising to 10 times more likely if aged 60 or older.
• Reducing speed limits on residential roads has been found to reduce air pollution, the incidents of accidents, and the numbers of fatalities and serious injuries that result. 
• Over 20 million citizens live in local authorities in the UK which have adopted or are adopting a default speed limit of 20mph on residential roads. 
• The default speed limit of 20mph has been adopted by other local authorities without the need for the implementation of physical calming measures. 
• Road safety experts from 130 countries adopted the ‘Stockholm Declaration’ recommending 20mph as the preferred default speed limit on residential roads in February 2020, and this was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in August 2020. 

Council further recognises that:

•Covid-19 and the challenges that have come with building back from it demonstrate that one of our key concerns must be to address all aspects of public health. 
• This should include lowering the default speed of motor vehicles on residential roads to reduce the danger they pose to residents and the pollution they emit. 
• Such a measure should be comprehensive and cover all residential roads in the Council Area – unless there are specific and unique exceptions that necessitate a faster speed limit. 

Council therefore resolves to:

•Establish an all-group working party to seek to implement a Council-wide 20mph speed limit on residential roads as soon as possible. This should include identifying roads where the lower speed limit may not be appropriate and exploring enforcement measures such as average speed cameras and Community Speedwatch initiatives. 
• Ask the Chief Executive to write to the leaders of all other Councils in the region that haven’t already implemented 20mph speed limits as the default in their authority area, and to write to Highways England requesting that speeds are reduced on sections of the motorway network in our Council area to tackle pollution.