Speed limits across a large section of central London have been cut to just 20mph in an effort to reduce accident deaths and casualties.
Transport for London (TfL) runs the transport network in the capital and has made the decision to reduce limits. The reduced speed limits were introduced on March 2 and cover many roads within the existing Congestion Zone.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said: “By cutting speed limits on TfL’s roads within the Congestion Zone we are saving lives, while at the same time making our streets more appealing for Londoners to walk and cycle around the capital.”
TfL will bring in lower speed limits across the central London TfL road network in a significant move it claims will reduce road danger across the capital, starting on Monday 2 March.
The actual data to prove reducing speed limits to 20mph is hard to pin down with some studies failing to back the assumption reduced speed limits would automatically reduce casualty rates.
The new 20mph speed limits will be enforced across all TfL roads within the Congestion Charging Zone – including Millbank, Victoria Embankment and Borough High Street – following strong public support for the proposals.
TfL will recalibrate all the speed cameras in central London and will work closely with the Metropolitan Police to ensure that drivers are complying with the new safer speed limits.
New Met Police speed enforcement team
As part of the joint commitment with TfL to eliminate death and serious injury from London’s roads, the Metropolitan Police will continue to target dangerous, careless and illegal driving across London’s roads.
From April, a new speed enforcement team will identify speeding drivers across the capital, including within the new 20mph speed limits.
According to TfL, speed is a factor in around 37% of collisions in London where a person dies or is seriously injured, which is why reducing the speed limit is key to the Mayor’s Vision Zero commitment to eliminate death and serious injury from London’s transport network.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am absolutely determined to do everything I can to eradicate all deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads and these new measures are a vital step along the way to helping us to achieve this.
“By cutting speed limits on TfL’s roads within the Congestion Zone we are saving lives, while at the same time making our streets more appealing for Londoners to walk and cycle around the capital.”
Additional comments received supported TfL’s aims to make London’s streets safer, more pleasant and welcoming to encourage more people out of their cars to walk, cycle and use public transport.
These are the roads with the existing roads within the Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ):
- Albert Embankment
- Lambeth Palace Road, Lambeth Bridge
- Millbank
- Victoria Embankment
- Upper Thames Street, Lower Thames Street, Byward Street, Tower Hill
- Borough High Street, Great Dover Street
- Blackfriars Road
- Part of Druid Street (between Tower Bridge Road and Crucifix Lane), Crucifix Lane, part of Bermondsey Street (between Crucifix Lane and Tooley Street)
- Part of Tooley Street (between Duke Street Hull and Tower Bridge Road), Duke Street Hill, Part of Queen Elizabeth Street (between Tooley Street and Tower Bridge Road)
- The 20mph limit will also be introduced at Aldgate Gyratory, including Leman Street, Prescot Street, Mansell Street, Minories and Goodman’s Yard, which is on the boundary of the CCZ rather than within it.
Proposals for a 20mph speed limit on Tooley Street were consulted on separately as part of the Tooley Street Healthy Streets project. The 20mph speed limit part of this project was been delivered at the same time as TfL’s road network, which they say provided better value for money.
