Climate Action Ilkley, together with the Transport Group Leads, have released a pubic letter concerning the 20mph proposals for Ilkley.
"We are writing concerning the 20mph proposals for Ilkley. We appreciate the effort that has gone into drawing up the scheme for the town and we fully support a 20mph limit. The potential of 20mph zones in towns to significantly improve road safety, air quality, road noise, carbon emissions, and the experience of pedestrians and cyclists is proven - and the evidence suggests that a majority of Ilkley residents support this position.
"The adoption of 20mph zones is becoming increasingly common in residential areas across the UK, precisely because these benefits are so clear. Importantly, the evidence from other implementations of other 20mph schemes (see references at the end of this letter) strongly favours town-wide introduction, not targeted on specific zones, such as outside schools, since this just tends to encourage motorists to feel it is ok to speed up again as soon as they leave the zone. Moreover, many of the wider benefits of 20mph zones to improve quality of life across the town will vanish if the scheme is confined merely to a few restrictions around schools.
"The details of implementation are equally important, however, and we are concerned that the level of hard engineering currently proposed will in fact detract from the scheme and cause additional problems for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Evidence from recent schemes seems to show that light (and relatively cheap) measures such as 'gateway treatments' at key entry points to the 20mph zone, together with repeater signs and speed indicator devices can be sufficient, provided the scheme is town-wide.
"In our view, a sensible approach would be to introduce a town-wide scheme supported by these lighter measures, and then to monitor levels of compliance. Other measures should be introduced only if, when and where the less invasive and less expensive measures have been proven not to be sufficient."
Martin Higgitt, Independent Transport Planner and Project Manager of Climate Action Ilkley Active Travel Hub
Helen Steward, Chair of Climate Action Ilkley Transport Group
Climate Action Ilkley Trustees: Prof. Rob Knipe, Martin Nash, Steve Peel, Dr Mary Pegington, Dr Kath Steward
Maps showing the proposed 20mph zone and road hump locations can be viewed online at: https://bradford.moderngov.co.uk/mgConsultationListDisplay.aspx
Residents now have until 12 noon on Friday 28th July 2023 to object to the plans by emailing legalobjections@bradford.gov.uk quoting the following reference(s):
Road humps - CORP/PCD/DS/414370 Speed limit - CORP/PCD/DS/414368
Objections can also be posted to:
Director of Legal and Governance Legal and Democratic Services City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council City Hall Bradford BD1 1HY