The number of people killed or seriously injured on Maidstone’s roads is far too high and has risen in recent years. We believe it is time that the town followed others across the country and introduced a mandatory 20mph speed limit in all residential areas.
Research from around the country, as well as our own research in Maidstone, has shown an overwhelming support for a lower speed limit in town. We recognise that a 20mph limit is not a panacea for our roads, there is far more work to do to make them safer and greener, but 20mph sends a strong message to slow down. If it helps take 5mph off the average speed, then it will have undoubtably have made our roads safer!
Three questions:
- Do you want cars travelling past your house at 20mph or 30mph?
- Would it be safer for our children and encourage them to play outside more with a 20mph limit or 30mph?
- Which would make you more confident about kids walking and cycling to school, roads limited to 20mph or 30mph?
Local Greens have decided to start this important campaign to make our roads safer and for Maidstone to join other leading towns such as Norwich, Oxford and Islington by making residential roads 20mph.
FACTS!
- More than half of road deaths and serious injuries occur on roads with 30 mph limits (Ref: RoSPA)
- Britain has the third highest rate of pedestrian road fatalities out of 10 Western European countries surveyed by the AA (Ref: The AA)
- The proportion of children (aged 5-10) walking to school has fallen by 27% in the last 20 years (Ref: DfT 67% in 1985 to 49% in 2005)
- British parents consistently cite traffic danger as the main reason why their children are not allowed to cycle or walk to school (Ref: National Travel Survey)
- Lowering urban and residential speed limits to 20 mph has been found to decrease accidents by 60% (Ref: Transport Research Laboratory)
