Dear Tony Hogg,
Congratulations on your success at the recent D&C PCC elections. I hope that you are getting to grips with the full extent on the new challenges that face you.
And no doubt dealing with the mountain of e-mails such as this bringing various areas of police work to your attention.
I am not sure if you know, but many residential roads around the City of Exeter are designated as 20mph zones/limit areas.
The vast majority of these areas do not have physical traffic calming measures which leads to the belief that the speed linit of 20mph cannot be enforced.
In my ward of Cowick, apart from the main roads of Cowick Lane, Buddle Lane, and Dunsford Road, each and every street is designated with a speed limit of 20mph.
Most have no traffic calming measures, but even those that do - Barley Lane and Bowhay Lane - still are plagued with speeding motorists.
I should like to know your view on the implementation of 20mph default speed limits without physical calming devices in all residential areas and places much frequented by vulnerable road users i.e. cyclists and pedestrians. I am referring to complete urban coverage - apart from arterial roads which remain at 30mph - as opposed to isolated zones at 20mph, within a conurbation. Exeter is close to exhibiting this coverage, yet all roud the city I hear of concern over this matter
As you may surmise, I am passionately in favour of this policy as are the vast majority of road users in the country - over 75% of drivers agree. It is the one, single action which, at a stroke, improves our lives together on so many fronts. Apart from the paramount advantage of greater safety, so many other benefits accrue:health ( more cycling and walking), environmental (less pollution at lower, steady speeds), social ( old and young can move more freely, independently and without fear in their living areas which are their streets).
The simple statistics are convincing and undenible:
At 20mph - 1 in 10 suffer serious injury/fatlaity
At 40mph - 1 in 10 survive
There are now over 8 million citizens in the UK enjoying this civilized regime and from our many conversations, whilst collecting petition signatures, it is clear that there is overwhelming support here in Cowick in particular, ad in Exeter in general. Some police forces in areas where this reform has been implemented initially declared themselves unenthusiastic but, in fact, the work load is no more than enforcing the 30mph limit.
I look forward to hearing your views very shortly.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Bull
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Cllr Paul Bull
Labour and Co-operative City Councillor for Cowick
5 Cranbrook Road
EXETER EX2 5HG
(01392) 275886
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