An analysis of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s policy for 20mph zones was discussed at the Places Scrutiny Committee last Thursday (13th September).
In January 2016, the council introduced a 20mph policy for all residential roads in the borough which met the Department for Transport’s criteria for speed reduction.
Early indications suggest that the scheme has had a significant impact, with a reported reduction in road traffic collisions of 65%.
The analysis focused on an assessment of schemes that were delivered in the first year of the rollout, the programme is now in the third year of delivery and planning for the fourth (and final) year of the scheme is currently underway.
Further work will be undertaken to analyse the data collected from subsequent years and this will inform future decisions regarding road safety measures in Cheshire West and Chester.
In terms of road safety for residents, the analysis revealed some promising results for roads which were included in the scheme.
It includes a 40% reduction in the ‘Killed and Seriously Injured’ category, and a 69% reduction in the smaller collisions that cause slight injuries.
CWAC cabinet member for environment, Cllr Karen Shore said: “This is a triumph for road safety.
“Although this is an early indication, following a review of the first year of the scheme, I am encouraged that we are travelling in the right direction and delivering on our commitment to make roads, particularly around schools, safer for our residents.”
The focus in the early years was to target roads around schools and residential areas where the mean average speed is less than 30mph.
The scheme was intended to deliver significant benefits, including a reduction in vehicular speeds, a reduction in traffic collisions and to encourage more children to walk and cycle to school.
In addition to the safety improvements for residents, the scheme has saved public services an estimated £2.6m (based on the Department for Transport’s current average cost of a road traffic collision).
Earlier this year the council launched its Active Travel Forum to further engage with cyclists and pedestrian road users on ways to make communities safer and healthier.
The full results of the evaluation from year one of the scheme are as follows:
- An overall reduction of 0.4 mph
- 65% reduction in road traffic collisions
- 40% reduction in ‘Killed and Seriously Injured’ collisions
- 69% reduction in ‘Slight’ collisions
- 15% fewer vehicles travelling above 25 mph
- 17% fewer vehicles travelling above 30 mph
- £2.6m saved in the average cost of road traffic collisions
- Very few complaints
