Speed limits at sites across London will fall to 20mph under a new pilot programme launched by mayor Boris Johnson.
Trials are planned for eight of the busiest locations across the capital in a bid to reduce road casualties, increase active travel and enhance locations.
The pilot schemes will introduce 20mph limits over an 18-month period on the road network controlled by Transport for London (TfL), although they align with local borough plans that are implementing the lower speeds across council networks.
Transport for London’s (TfL) first confirmed pilot will hit Tower Hamlets in April, arriving when speeds on all the borough’s roads are cut to 20mph. The remaining seven schemes will be rolled out over the next two years.
Once implemented, the route could be extended out to cover the wider "Shoreditch Triangle" and sections of the A10, in line with Hackney's 20mph borough wide aspirations.
TfL will now work closely with local borough councils to investigate the potential for the remaining seven pilots to be introduced throughout 2015 and 2016. These pilots would take place at:
- Upper Street and Holloway Road (between Pentonville Road and Seven Sisters Road)
- Westminster Bridge, Stamford Street and Southwark St (between Victoria
- Embankment and Borough High Street - this trial would also incorporate the previous 20mph trial at Waterloo Roundabout)
- Brixton Town Centre (between St Matthews Road and Stockwell Park Walk)
- Clapham High Street (between Clapham Park Road and Bedford Road, which forms part of Cycle Superhighway 7)
- Earls Court Road and Redcliffe Gardens (between A4 Cromwell Road and Fulham Road)
- Kings Cross Road and Farringdon Road (between Pentonville Road and Charterhouse Road, linking up with the previous 20mph trial along Farringdon St and Blackfriars Bridge)
- Camden Street (between Camden Road and Crowndale Road)
Almost a quarter of London’s roads are now 20mph, with Islington, Camden and the City of London ‘leading the way’ with cross-borough introduction.
Hackney is also poised to launch lower limits next year, adding to the 280km of borough roads that were landed with 20mph speed limits over 2013/14.
Sustrans London deputy director, Matt Winfield, today urged more London boroughs to adopt 20mph limits, which he said would ‘make our city a more comfortable and pleasant place to be’.
Mr Johnson, said: `Lower speeds have the potential to significantly improve road safety while enhancing the environment for walking and cycling. As well as actively supporting and funding the installation of 20mph zones and limits on borough roads across London, we have also been looking at the TfL Road Network to see where further 20 mph limits could provide significant benefits.’
Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: ‘Piloting 20mph speed limits form a key part of our continuing work to make central London safer, pleasant and more attractive for all.’
