UK cities imposing 20 mph speed limits to improve safety, walkability, bikability

A growing number of British communities are slapping 20-mph speed limits on large sections of their roads because of safety concerns and the hope that it will encourage more people to bicycle and walk. 

Speed Limit 14 mph, photo by Bredgur on FlickR

What's more, polls show that residents of places that adopt a 20-mph limit don't mind having to stick to a speed that, to an American, feels only slightly faster than travel by pogo stick.

"People have gradually been more and more sidelined by motorized traffic, and a bit of a backlash is happening," says Tom Platt of Living Streets, a non-profit group that campaigns for pedestrian-friendly public spaces. "People want to reclaim their streets."

A recent survey of local governments by the British newspaper The Independent found that one-third of respondents have either imposed 20-mph speed limits or plan to do so.

Missouri communities, including Columbia and Springfield, have experimented with lower residential speed limits. It would be interesting to see a Missouri community implement 20 mph speed zones throughout the residential areas of a city, though!

The way our cities are laid out, drivers would have only 1/3 mile or less in 20 mph zones before reaching thoroughfares with higher speed limits. The driver delay is literally just a few seconds, while the dividend to the community of the lower speed zone in residential areas is enormous.