Southwark Council’s been getting its knickers in a twist
again – this time over its controversial policy to introduce a borough wide
speed limit of 20mph for all vehicles. Having
been floated by each of the three main political parties from as far back as
2008, it’s an idea that refuses to lay down and die.
As
we’ve seen over many decades, local councils love expanding their reach, with
the aim of controlling every area of our lives (except those that really
matter), whether we want them to or not. It’s also true that they’re often not
the best people to know just what is best for us: from waste management to housing,
from schools to parking enforcement - many local authorities couldn’t run a
successful booze-up in Spa Road’s Kernel Brewery.
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| Spa Terminus, Spa Road SE16: location of Kernel Brewery |
Sadly, and predictably, the council has ignored the views of
two key constituents in its rush to launch its speeding policy: the police and
the public. While agreeing that slower
speeds are of some benefit, the Metropolitan Police has stated that they do
not have the resources to enforce the initiative. We of course know that if they did, our
council tax bills would need to be raised significantly to fund the extra officers. And, a
bog-standard consultation of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe residents is no consultation at
all. What about a referendum instead?
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| Land Rover parked on Mill Street SE1 |
Rather like dog fouling, this policy is virtually unenforceable
on the vast majority of our roads (something the council itself acknowledges); it relies on the enforcer
to be in the right place at the right time.
The truth is, there’s nothing radical about this policy. It’s an example of a nanny state, where the
nanny doesn’t work full-time or in every room in the house, but instead sticks up post-it notes and neon behaviour reminders,
leaving the children to manage their own learning and lives.
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| Should all Rotherhithe roads be subject to the 20mph limit? |
The policy has been a shambles from start to finish: one
minute it includes cyclists, the next they can cycle as fast as they like. One day it covers the entire borough, the
next it doesn’t apply to roads managed by Transport for London.
A truly serious and coherent policy would encourage responsible road and pavement usage from
everyone: motorists, cyclists, motorised wheelchair users, parents pushing
buggies and pedestrians.
So, when the brave new 20mph world dawns, what will happen when
the accidents continue, even after the introduction of the much
vaunted but arbitrary speed limit? Maybe they'll lower it to 10 or even 5mph? No doubt
Southwark Council will decide that the most effective way to ensure safer roads
is to ban cars altogether!
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| Has the public 'consultation' led to blue-skies thinking at Southwark Council Towers? |
A final thought: effective enforcement needs more eyes and
ears. Let’s employ more police and
traffic officers from Bermondsey’s unemployed and raise our taxes to pay for
them - now that would be a truly radical policy. Which local politician is going to be brave
and honest enough to agree?
More information:
Southwark Council: Borough-wide 20mph speed limit
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