Council confirms 20mph zone for Southville

So a quarter-of-a-million pounds is going to be spent on traffic signs in Southville to tell motorists that the new speed limit in the area is 20mph. No money to actually enforce the new limit or for physical traffic claming measures such as speed bumps. You can't argue with the fact that if you have an accident at 20mph the likely damage to other cars or pedestrians will be less, so from a safety point of view that's good. So will it encourage more people to cycle and walk around the area - one of the other stated aims? We think not. Perhaps proper cycle lanes, more considerate parking at junctions and crossings in better positions would?

A bridge too far...

... for cars in the future. According to the Evening Post Prince Street Bridge will be closed to cars within four years to make way for the new bendy-bus route.

The bridge closure will be part of a Transport and Works Act Order to be submitted by Bristol and North Somerset councils early in the new year. The order will provide the legal consent to build the £48 million first rapid transit route in Bristol, which is hoped to be up and running by 2013.

Southville's 20mph scheme a waste of money

Safer roads, more cyclists and easier to walk around the area. All good stuff and the City Council hopes that its plans to put a 20mph speed limit on Southville's streets will help achieve this. On the surface it seems like a winner, but when you think about it there seems to be some major flaws in its objective to: '...make walking and cycling around these areas safe and more attractive thereby encouraging more people to walk and cycle around their own community.

The Council are spending £35,000 on two schemes in the city. This involves putting up 20mph signs in every street... and that's about it. No plans to enforce the new limits and no traffic calming measures. It is also not imposing the 20mph zone on the area's busiest roads - the ones that are the most tricky to cross and if your a cyclist probably the most dangerous to ride on! They also tend do be the ones by shops and schools.

On its own website the Council says the scheme will work best on roads where the average speed is 24mph. So in these difficult financial times its proposing spending all this money to reduce speed (if anyone takes any notice of the signs) by 4mph. Do we really need hundreds of new street signs in the area for a flawed scheme, where let's face it, in the narrow streets with parking on both sides it's pretty difficult to go much above 20 anyway.

If the Council really wants to get more people cycling and walking here's some suggestions on how it could work in Southville.

1. Save the money on all these signs and put in some proper traffic calming measures. Including pedestrian crossings where people actually cross the road.


2. Stop people parking right up to the junction or even across it! The majority of accidents and near misses I've seen in Southville are because motorists views are blocked as they try and come out of junctions. A few double yellow lines around the corners at junctions would alleviate this.


3. More walking? Then let's give the pavements back to pedestrians. Stopping cars parking at the junctions would help. Encouraging people not to park on pavements would also help as would unblocking pavements of wheelie bins left out all week. In some cases vulnerable people - the blind, those in wheelchairs or with walking aids, and mums pushing prams -are forced onto the road because of these blockages.

So come on Bristol City Council don't impose all these signs on the community when it will have no or little effect. If you want more people to walk give them unblocked pavements and proper crossings. If you want more people to cycle, bite the bullet and invest in some proper cycle lanes. If you want drivers to slow down, put traffic claming measures in the area's busiest roads.