Hackney Council passes historic motion in favour of 20mph speed limits on all its streets
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Joint press release by Hackney Living Streets and the London Cycling Campaign in Hackney
The move follows recent pre-election encouragement to boroughs from London Mayor Ken Livingstone and the GLA to make 20mph the norm on London's streets. This has led to fevered speculation from environment and road safety charities as to which borough would be first to sign up to the approach. Hackney's decision sees them leading the rest of the capital towards safer, more sociable streets. The motion, which was introduced by Green Party Cllr Mischa Borris and supported by Lib Dem Cllr Ian Sharer, was unanimously backed by Labour councillors following amendment, in a cross-party demonstration of respect for its importance. Only Conservative councillors opposed the decision which was debated late into the night, with a strong presence in the public gallery. On a request from Mayor Jules Pipe, the Speaker suspended standing orders to allow time for members to make deeply felt representations. Many members spoke of being personally affected by road crashes and spoke strongly in favour of slower speeds in Hackney to protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists and in particular school-children. The motion that was passed concluded: "The Council therefore believes that residents, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists would all benefit from a 20mph safety limit and that therefore the standard speed limit on streets within the Borough of Hackney should be 20mph with only very limited exceptions. "The Council, accordingly, calls on the Executive: The motion builds on the Council's existing plan of action by stating the intent to cover the entire borough - which would include the shopping streets that are the destination for many journeys by foot and bicycle. To date 20mph zones have only been used in residential areas. The debate also saw Mayor Jules Pipe speak set of his hope that hackney can trial innovative new digital enforcement cameras for TfL who are currently developing these for use on 20mph streets. The campaign by walking and cycling groups to make 20mph the default speed limit in Hackney, was publicly acknowledged by Cllr Ian Sharer, and other councillors acknowledged that the public campaign raised the profile of the motion for many of them. Living Streets and Hackney Cyclists had collected 300 letters from members of the public asking councillors to vote in favour of the motion. Hackney Living Streets' co-ordinator, David Farnham, praised councillors for their decision and looked forward to seeing the further development of their plans for implementation: "Hackney's decision marks a big step forward on the path to socialising our streets and significantly progresses the national debate about the appropriate balance between traffic and social life in our towns and cities. By making it safer for people to explore the borough on foot, we believe it will lead to a fitter, happier hackney and stronger communities. "We look forward to seeing how the council will update its existing plans so it can deliver its raised ambitions. These plans will save lives so we think it is crucial that they are delivered as quickly as possible. We therefore welcome Mayor Jules Pipe's innovative suggestion that Hackney could trial new unobtrusive digital camera enforcement technology for TfL once they make these available." Tony Armstrong, Hackney resident and chief executive of Living Streets, said: "By adopting 20mph as the standard speed limit for Hackney, the local council has taken a stand that will have a direct, and very positive, impact on the lives of local people. At 20mph, over 9 out of 10 people will survive a collision with a car. When Hull implemented a 20mph limit in residential areas, there was a 90% overall reduction in serious and fatal injuries -- thanks to this decision, Hackney can now look forward to streets that are safer too. More than that, the fear of traffic that causes vulnerable pedestrians to stay indoors, and parents to reach for the car keys, will now start to fade. Hackney Living Streets has done a great job of pushing this issue up the agenda, and we now urge Hackney Council's executive to put these plans into action as soon as possible." Trevor Parsons, co-ordinator of London Cycling Campaign in Hackney said: "The extension of 20mph as the standard speed limit in Hackney beyond residential areas to town centres and main roads is a significant and welcome development. Thirty miles per hour is not an appropriate speed on a Saturday morning through Dalston, or through Old Street in Shoreditch on a Friday evening. A limit of 20mph will reduce the speed difference and conflicts between motorists and cyclists and lead to a smoother flow of traffic with less accelerating and braking between junctions." ENDS Notes: 1. Contacts: 2. TfL, Casualty Statistics for London, 2005: There were 247 pedestrian casualties 134 cyclist casualties and 375 car casualties in Hackney in 2005, with 1026 casualties in total, out of which 124 people were killed or seriously injured. This means every week over four pedestrians get knocked down, over two cyclists get knocked down and there are almost two crashes every day. Every week almost two people are killed or seriously injured in collisions on Hackney's streets according to TfL statistics. |
In a historic vote at a full council meeting on 9 April 2008, Hackney Council became the first London borough to take a decision to make 20mph the standard speed limit on all borough roads, drawing instant acclaim from local walking and cycling groups.