The future of urban mobility and how 20mph limits affect accessibility, risk and sustainability will be considered at a one-day conference taking place later this year.
The 10th National 20mph Conference, organised by campaign group 20’s Plenty for Us, is being held at Waltham Forest Town Hall in London on 31 October.
In a press release announcing the conference 20’s Plenty for Us says 20mph limits are ‘spreading’, with 21m people in the UK living in areas ‘where wide area 20mph is agreed’.
The conference will set out to predict local travel behaviours in the 2020’s – considering pressures on active travel, emissions, vehicle sharing and economic factors.
Technologies such as e-bikes, e-scooters, speed limiters, vehicle automation and speed enforcement will be featured.
Speakers already confirmed on the agenda include:
- Matthew Baldwin, deputy director-general – mobility and transport, European Commission
- Jonathon Passmore, programme manager – violence and injury prevention, World Health Organisation
- Dovile Adminaite, PIN programme manager, European Transport Safety Council
- Stuart Reid, interim director of Vision Zero, Transport for London
- DS Andrew Cox, Roads and Transport Policing Command, Metropolitan Police
Rod King MBE, founder and director of 20’s Plenty for Us, said: “This event aims to share insights, ignite excitement and progress on making our roads fit for the future.
“Streets should be fit for use by people of all ages, for those with disabilities and encourage a fitter, healthier population.
“We all deserve to safely and conveniently get about. 20mph limits are the basis for roads of the next decade that are shared more fairly, safely and efficiently.”
The 20mph Campaigner of the Year award will also be presented at the conference.
Click here to book to attend.
Hugh
I think that when walking or cycling it is the differential passing speed that influences vulnerable road user anxiety. For a cyclist at 15mph when a 20mph vehicle passes then its a 5mph differential passing speed. If the vehicle is doing 30mph then the differential passing speed is 3 times higher and if its doing 40mph its 5 times higher.
I remember on my visit to Hilden with its 30kmh limit in 2004 the highways engineer said that the primary objective was reducing differential speeds. They couldn’t speed up pedestrians and cyclists, but they could reduce the speed of motor vehicles.
Regarding the speeds of passing vehicles in urban areas the consensus with cycling organisation is that passing speeds really do matter.
Rod King, Lymm
--3
I agree with your last sentence Rod, but it is more relevant in rural areas on country roads, were vehicle speeds are significantly higher than in urban areas and where recreational use like cycling, riding and walking – even with footways present – would be discouraged by the speeds of passing vehicles, typically upwards of 40mph.
In urban areas, the speeds of passing vehicles I think is less of an influence on transport choices, although for the record, I do support 20 limits for other reasons.
Hugh Jones
+1
Hugh
Our conference is about looking at the way that transit modes will develop over the next 10 years and how such changes will effect the demand for speed limits that are appropriate for the new modal mix which is coming.
These changes towards e-bikes, e-scooters, etc and other technologies such as speed limiters, automated enforcement will happen anyway. But we have a choice as to what limits we set and the environment in which they will be used.
I suspect that personal modal shift comes about through a variety of triggers. Some financial, some health, some due to changing jobs/homes/schools, etc. But whenever modal shift choices are made then one important consideration is society’s attitude to any particular mode and the conditions it creates for such users. And speed limits and prevailing speeds are an important indicator of the both that attitude and the practicality of walking and cycling.
Rod King, Lymm
--4
I don’t believe that the prevailing speed limit on a road determines or influences the mode and level of usage of it by non-motorised road users, particularly in urban areas. It’s more to do with the amount of motorised traffic and the physical characteristics of the road itself. I’ve lived in the same residential road for thirty odd years, with a standard 30 mph default limit for most of that time, but which recently changed to a 20 zone…to date, no difference in usage whatsoever, nor will there be.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
+9