PLANS have been revealed that could see the City of London slapped with a 15mph limit. The move is mentioned in a document drawn up by Bruce McVean, who will now be asking UK Secretary of Transport Grant Schapps for approval.
The move will see the ‘Square Mile’ that makes up the City of London, stretching from Holborn in the west, to Whitechapel in the east. While there is no talk of extending the zone further in the coming years, the sceptics amongst us (myself included) could imagine how easy that would be once an initial 15mph zone is established.
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The move is part of CR20, a deep dive report into road safety in the capital. Other options being looked at are widening pavements further and expanding the cycle network around London. While road safety is the key message the environment is another, although with traffic moving around the City at a snail’s pace for many years, you do have to question just how effective the move will be.
The section of the document that explains the Safer Speeds idea in more detail states that the new limit will be enforced first as an Experimental Traffic Order or an ETO. At the end of the ETO – sometime in 2022 – the order will likely be signed off on making the move permanent.
It’s not the first time a 15mph limit was proposed for the City of London though. The last time was in 2019, although the move was slammed by industry stakeholders for its futility.
