Westminster Council has announced that it plans to introduce 20mph speed limits in a number of pilot areas. These will be implemented in streets close schools, or where there has been a history of speed-related accidents. We will also put up vehicle-activated signs to collect data on traffic-speeds on these roads.

Westminster Conservatives have been studying the evidence and refusing to impose a blanket 20 mph limit across the entire area.   

Many Labour Councils have have designated all their roads as being in a 20mph zone, with negligible results. A blanket 20mph-policy does not alert motorists to the hot-spots that require more caution, with the effect many drivers simply disregard the speed limit.

Westminster Councillors have always said that such measures need to be part of a package of interventions, and areas need to be clearly designated. The overall evidence remains mixed, and that is why we believe that it is time to test whether these restrictions can work on our Westminster streets.

The average speed in many streets in Westminster is very low, - often significantly less than 20 mph -, so we recognise that speed-restrictions are just one way of making the flow of traffic safer. In many places, a change in road layout offers a more effective way of managing traffic-speeds, reducing the impulse to dash between pinch-points  We will continue to use other interventions on our roads as in many cases, a change in the road layout remains the most effective way of reducing traffic speeds.

Cllr Melvyn Caplan, Cabinet Member for City Management explained ‘Westminster Conservatives recognise that the city is a complex place and that a variety of solutions are needed to keep it a safe place for all its residents and visitors.  We believe that piloting 20mph roads in specific, carefully selected areas is an additional way in which we can alert motorists to the need to drive more carefully and slowly on those roads’.