York campaigners vow to carry on 20mph residential speed limit campaign (From York Press)

York campaigners vow to carry on 20mph residential speed limit campaign

8:07am Wednesday 17th June 2009 in News By Jennifer Bell, jennifer.bell@thepress.co.uk

DEFIANT campaigners have vowed “we’re not giving up” after hitting another roadblock in their battle to kill speed on York’s residential streets.

City of York Council has rubber-stamped the rejection of a blanket 20mph speed limit being imposed in the city’s residential areas – despite being given the chance to ask the man who turned the idea down to think again.

Calls for a U-turn came from the Twenty’s Plenty group, whose hopes for a city-wide restriction were boosted when the authority’s scrutiny and management committee called in the decision to ditch the scheme, and held a meeting in the Guildhall to rule on whether it could be reconsidered.

But they were left disappointed as a wafer-thin outcome – decided only by committee chairman Coun Paul Healey’s casting vote – meant the council stood by the original view of its executive member for city strategy, Coun Steve Galloway, that the idea of blanket 20mph zones across York should be abandoned.

Coun Galloway’s preferred route was to single out particular streets with speed problems and urge police to use mobile speed cameras.

However, Twenty’s Plenty leader, Anna Semlyen, insisted it would not sound the death knell for the campaign. She said: “Survival statistics show that, at 20mph, 95 per cent of pedestrians or cyclists survive a crash with a car – at 30mph, only 55 per cent do.

“A city-wide 20mph residential limit, without humps, is so better than 30mph for safety, community-building, walkable neighbourhoods, active lifestyles, green travel choices, traffic reduction, pollution and much more.

“Evidence from other cities is that a blanket 20mph area, with a concerted public education campaign, is more effective than orders for isolated road sections. It will soon be standard where people live – York must not lag behind.”

Coun Ruth Potter, along with Coun Dave Merrett, backed calls for the 20mph proposals to be reconsidered. She said: “The decision by Coun Galloway was called in because it was seriously flawed.

“The most serious flaw is that a variety of speed limits tend to undermine drivers sticking to 20mph limits where they have been agreed – 20mph in all residential streets removes all doubt.

“We know residents want this to happen in York, so they can cycle or walk on the streets in safety. We will keep pressing people that this is the right decision.”