20mph default limit for Kingston’s residential streets

The speed limit on almost all residential streets in the London borough of Kingston is set to drop to 20mph. Currently, more than 70% of the borough has 20mph speed limits and this is set to increase to 20mpn in the coming months, said the council.

Both Surbiton and South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committees have unanimously approved expansion of 20mph zones in their neighbourhoods.

A council spokesperson told LTT: “The 20mph limit will be rolled out in the coming months subject to statutory consultation. Each Neighbourhood Committee at Kingston Council has agreed its own approach to making residential streets safer by introducing the 20mph speed limits.”

The spokesperson added: “We are carrying out monitoring of the schemes in place across the borough. As such, it’s too early to draw conclusions, but feedback from residents suggests that 20mph limits help to create safer, cleaner, greener neighbourhoods.”

In November 2022 Wandsworth Council became the first local authority in the UK to issue fines to those breaking the 20mph limit under an eight-month pilot scheme.

Kingston Council told LTT that it had no plans to carry out a similar trial and would be focusing on making the 20mph limit “self-enforcing”. The council’s spokesperson said: “National research shows that behaviour change takes time and that 20mph schemes have shown to be successfully self-enforcing.

“Slowing vehicle speeds down is essential if we are going to make our roads safer. Any new 20mph speed limit would be enforced by the Metropolitan Police, as is normal for any speed limit.”