20mph for Ctl London TLRN

Transport for London is consulting on cutting the speed limit on all of its roads within the central London congestion charge zone from 30mph to 20mph by May next year.  

The policy would apply to 5.6 miles of road including Millbank, Albert Embankment, Victoria Embankment, Lambeth Palace Road, Lambeth Bridge, Upper and Lower Thames Street, Tower Hill, Borough High Street, and Aldgate Gyratory. A number of TfL’s roads in central London already have 20mph limits. 

TfL says lower speeds will protect people walking, cycling and riding motorcycles. “The faster a vehicle is going, the more likely a collision will occur and the higher the chance of death or more severe injuries occurring.” 

Additional measures could be introduced on the roads to ensure that the lower speed limit is self-enforcing. These will be delivered in a phased manner, to allow the effectiveness of measures to be evaluated. 

Initial actions will include vehicle activated signs; large ‘20’ road markings; raised pedestrian crossings, raised tables (the same as raised pedestrian crossings but not at designated crossing points); and removing the white line from the centre of roads. 

TfL plans to raise the height of pedestrian crossings in seven high-risk locations, including near the busy Embankment and Tower Hill Tube stations and in areas with a high number of pedestrians, such as outside Tate Britain on Millbank.

Research will be carried out into the impact that different gradients and designs of raised crossings have on buses and ambulances.

Speed cameras on all of roads will be recalibrated to enforce at 20mph, and TfL says mobile speed cameras will be deployed to increase compliance. 

Over the next five years TfL plans to introduce lower speed limits across a further 150km (94 miles) of its road network. This might mean speed limits being lowered from 50mph to 40mph, or from 40mph to 30mph, in addition to introducing more sections of 20mph.

Consultation on the central London proposals runs to 10 July.