Islington Council welcomes 20mph limits for key TfL roads in the borough

*** picture caption: Cllr Claudia Webbe with police at one of the first enforcement sessions for 20mph in Islington. For high-res image click thumbnail ***

Islington Council has today (Tuesday, July 24) welcomed news that key Transport for London (TfL) routes in the borough will see the introduction of 20mph speed limits to improve road safety.

The announcement is part of London’s first Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the roads by 2041, launched today by TfL in partnership with the Mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Islington – which in 2012 became the first London local authority to introduce 20mph limits on all roads managed by the borough – fully supports the Vision Zero Action Plan. Each year approximately 80 people are needlessly killed or seriously injured on roads in Islington.

In Islington, TfL plans for City Road, Pentonville Road, Upper Holloway Road and the Archway Gyratory, the Nag’s Head gyratory and all TfL roads/south of Pentonville Road and City Road to have 20mph limits as part of a programme of work between now and 2024. TfL will also hold more than 20 Community Roadwatch sessions – where residents join police to use speed equipment to detect speeding vehicles – in the borough each year.

Cllr Claudia Webbe, Islington Council’s executive member for environment and transport, said: “We’re committed to making Islington’s roads safer, and to taking pioneering action such as introducing a 20mph limit on all of our streets, not only the first of its kind but also becoming the first London borough to work with the Met Police to enforce against speeding.

“We’ve previously and consistently called for the Mayor and Transport for London to introduce 20mph limits on TfL routes in our borough. We’re very pleased City Road, Pentonville Road and other key TfL routes will become 20mph. We hope this will happen as soon as possible, and that ultimately all TfL routes in Islington will have a 20mph limit, making them a little bit slower but a whole lot better.

“We fully support London’s Vision Zero Action Plan and are working with the Mayor of London and TfL on a range of projects, including the transformation of Highbury Corner and Old Street roundabout, to make Islington’s roads safer.”

Also in Islington, Highbury Corner and the Old Street roundabout are being transformed with the removal of dangerous, outdated one-way systems, the creation of new public spaces, and work to make walking and cycling much easier and safer. Work at Highbury Corner has recently started, and work at Old Street is due to begin next year.

Reducing the speed of vehicles on London's streets is fundamental to reducing roaddanger and creating healthy streets where people want to walk, cycle and use public transport. All of Islington Council’s roads in the borough are already 20mph and aspart of TfL’s commitment to Vision Zero, TfL is proposing to make 20mph the general limit for all of Transport for London’s Road Network (TLRN) in the borough.

Alex Williams, Director of City Planning at TfL, said; “This new approach to reducing road danger means we are tackling danger at the source, working in coalition with partners like Islington and the Met police, to enforce new 20mph limits, transform dangerous junctions and raise awareness of road danger. Safety is at theheart of all our decision making and we’re committed to making sure everyone gets home safely every day.The bold actions outlined in the Vision Zero plan will set London on the path to eliminating death and serious injuries on our transport network by 2041.

Vision Zero will be supported by the MPS Roads and Transport Policing Command, through enforcement by over 2,000 uniformed officers.The MPS is responding to Vision Zero with a new approach, which will intensify police focus on the most dangerous drivers and amplify the deterrent effect through widespread high visibility roadside operations and patrols.