Together with my original facebook post, I put together a very short survey and asked the following questions:
“What do you think about making the speed limit on all residential roads in WB 20mph?”
“Any other ideas / comments / questions?”
“Your e-mail address (optional)” - for letting people know what I found out.
An important caveat here is that this is not a scientific poll and just because there are lots of positive views expressed here doesn’t necessarily mean that the same proportion of people in all of WB feel this way.
Nevertheless, I think it’s clear that there is a strong desire for some change.
Summary
As of today (2021-10-15), 36 people filled in the form.
Reading through the comments a couple of things stand out from the responses:
- enforcement is felt to be a huge issue.
- there are several place across WB that cause people issues
- speeding is not the only issue. it sounds like cars run pedestrian crossings all the time. not cool.
- speed bumps may be a bad idea (bad for buses, cars, may encourage speeding between bumps…)
Note: there are some cogent arguments against introducing blanket 20mph. Some of them are expressed in one of the against entries. But unfortunately, there is also a favourite “toys-out-of-the-pram” entry in the against bracket:
Teach your kids to cross the road properly if you’re worried.
Anonymous of course. Maybe what they meant was for there to be “more education on road safety at home and at school”?. But clearly, some people have deep-seated issues they need to resolve.
Replies to Question 1 (yes/no?)
| 1 | Think this is a great idea. The roads in WB are more congested than ever before and parked cars add to the problem. The crossings on Rectory road, Melton road and Bridgford road are becoming unsafe due to people driving too fast to notice people at the crossing or to stop in time. Musters road becomes more dangerous every year with the increased traffic flow, parked cars and people exceeding the speed limit because it is a smooth wide road |
| 2 | Long long overdue. Save lives and save the planet. |
| 3 | Yes |
| 4 | Yes this is a good idea |
| 5 | Good idea |
| 6 | Excellent idea |
| 7 | This needs to be done ASAP … our children are not safe |
| 8 | Yes, go for it! |
| 9 | Good idea but the people that fly down them won’t care. They don’t pay attention to 30! |
| 10 | A great idea especially as many of us have to park on the street making it more dangerous to cross. |
| 11 | A brilliant idea. I cannot believe it’s not been introduced already! |
| 12 | This should be implemented immediately |
| 13 | Great idea |
| 14 | Im totally in favour. |
| 15 | Yes we absolutely need 20mph on all roads. Maybe also cyclists could stop racing along the river path! |
| 16 | Strongly in favour. |
| 17 | Fantastic idea!! |
| 18 | I believe a review is needed in some areas but a blanket 20 zone is ridiculous |
| 19 | Great idea and fully support. |
| 20 | Great idea |
| 21 | Completely agree. Especially on roads surrounding schools. Abbey road is a nightmare, the cars race down at frightening speed. |
| 22 | Agree |
| 23 | Yes please! My 2 year old has a balance bike which he is remarkably speedy on and I’m terrified of the speeding cars. |
| 24 | 100% agree with this. The speeds people drive down our road (Kingswood) are outrageous sometimes |
| 25 | For ir |
| 26 | Yes definitely! Cars drive far to fast around bridgford. I am a mum to 2 young children and I am constantly worried when out walking at the speed of the cars. |
| 27 | Yes, absolutely! |
| 28 | Definitely think it’s a good idea. I live on Blake Road (near the corner of Cyril Road) and drivers tend to use Blake as a bit of a cut through to avoid Davies Road and cars speed down |
| 29 | No need, 30mph is slow enough. How often do you hear of accidents in WB? Not often enough to change the speed limit. |
| 30 | Great idea, much safer for children and cyclists |
| 31 | I absolutely support this and would like to see it happen. The roads are for everyone, not just for drivers. If we are really to encourage active travel for all, then residential streets must be 20, with protected active travel routes on all roads above 20mph |
| 32 | I agree with that speed limit |
| 33 | Definitely not. |
| 34 | I think this is a fantastic idea. I have 2 school aged children and feel constantly worried about them crossing roads. I have seen many a driver speed down the smaller roads |
| 35 | Why haven’t we already done it? Should have been rolled out town wide when Lady Bay’s were converted from advisory 20’s to mandatory ones. |
| 36 | Essential |
Replies to Question 2 (Any other comments)
| 1 | Bring back lollipop lady/man at school times please. Traffic calming measures on Musters road, children and elderly people cross here without any pedestrian crossing and most cars exceed speed limit. |
| 2 | This measure has been requested many times over decades. The car: dangerous, dirty and lazy has always won. It’s time for a change. |
| 3 | Millicent Road is often uses as a cut though, I appreciate the need for a road to get emergency vehicles onto Loughborough Road but perhaps speeds bumps would help… |
| 4 | There are some zebra crossings that are more dangerous than others, Bridgford road outside the parlour and the zebra crossing near the cottages on rectory road to name two. Any measure to help drivers slow or take notice of school children crossing in these areas would be good in my view |
| 5 | NA |
| 6 | NA |
| 7 | More children would cycle if the roads were safer, a greener planet! |
| 8 | Has to be enforced. Lady bay has a twenty limit but unless slowed by traffic almost nobody goes at 20 and often 30 or more. |
| 9 | Another electronic speed sign on Loughborough road after the Wilford lane traffic lights. |
| 10 | Living just of Loughborough rd the cars often reach 40+. There is a speed reader near West Park. Some regular speed traps would hopefully discourage speeders. |
| 11 | Follow the introduction with regular (random) speed checks. |
| 12 | Regular speed checks or Install speed cameras to ensure residents safety |
| 13 | I live near Beckside and drivers are always speeding down this road |
| 14 | How is a residential street defined? There are main roads (eg Radcliffe Rd, L’boro Road) which are residential. There might be more opposition to a 20 mph limit on these. |
| 15 | I live on Holme Road and people speed all the time. It’s narrow and there are several entrances to and from the park from which children run/skateboard out of. This road needs speed bumps due to its length. Cars can get up to 60mph on this road.. Also many people turn left as they leave the rugby club/sports bar from trent boulevard onto Radcliffe Road. Last time I counted 7 cars turning one after the other straight onto the green man pedestrian crossing. It’s so dangerous! |
| 16 | NA |
| 17 | NA |
| 18 | NA |
| 19 | Loughborough Road and Melton Road on either side of Victoria Road should also have a speed flash light. I live on Elm Tree Avenue and have to cross both of these roads daily for school drop off/pick up. Daily cars are travelling more than 30mph. This is especially dangerous around the corner on George road/Melton Road. We walk up George road and there are always cars & vans parked on both sides all the way up making crossing with children/bikes/prams dangerous. 20mph limit would be a far better limit for area. Giving reassurance to pedestrians, especially as there are many families in West Bridgford. With little inconvenience to drivers (to which I am also one). |
| 20 | I would love a zebra crossing on Abbey Road ( maybe near Tiffin) as it is terrifying crossing that road on the school run with so many parked cars too |
| 21 | Mobile Police enforcement cameras. I think it would be quite telling if the police patrolled the area for a period to see how bad the issue is. Also dangerous parking makes crossing roads unsafe, as visibility is poor. I think the permit area needs extending as it is mostly workers that park dangerously on abbey road, Davis road and Blake road which exacerbates the issues surrounded crossing roads safely. Especially so close to schools |
| 22 | NA |
| 23 | Please make the 5/10 min radius around central avenue 20. Davies road, eltham road etc |
| 24 | When I contacted the council previously about this I was told they wouldn’t action unless someone was hurt? Ridiculous. Many school kids cycle or walk along our road. I have 2 young kids that I keep safety away from the road due to the excessive speeding. |
| 25 | More random drink/drug testing |
| 26 | NA |
| 27 | NA |
| 28 | NA |
| 29 | Teach your kids to cross the road properly if you’re worried. |
| 30 | NA |
| 31 | Other aspects of the streetscape could encourage drivers to stick to this without speed cameras. This includes raised areas at the start and end of each residential street, clear and attractive signposting (not necessarily highway standard signs, but rather neighbourhood signs). Drivers (and I am one of them!) should realise they are a rather large and potentially dangerous guest on a street where people live and play. |
| 32 | NA |
| 33 | Just wondering if this is really necessary. What evidence is there to back up a 20mph speed limit, how many Road Traffic Collisions have there been in West Bridgford over the past 2 years, how many were damage only How many were injury or non injury and how many fatalities, and what time of day. All these details are held at County Hall Traffic Stats. Who is going to enforce the speed limit. I believe that the main problems on the roads in West Bridgford come from parked cars on corners or obstructing pavements and when are we actually going to tackle every parents nightmare of heavy volume of traffic and bad parking around schools. Please don’t get me wrong but just because something seems to be a good idea doesn’t mean it is, look at the bigger picture first. It’s the same as Radcliffe Road through West Bridgford, lowering the speed limit to 30mph will cause mayhem on Meadow Lane and Lady Bay Bridge. Which roads would be 20mph would main artierial roads be included such as Musters, Melton, Bridgford and Loughborough Roads plus many more I could mention.Who would decide? How much would this cost. Would all resident be consulted or would it be decided by the whim of a few. When you get time drive through West Bridgford using all different types of roads but drive at 20mph or as they say just under to be safe then decide if this a good idea or even necessary. Sorry to go on but I don’t think a blanket 20mph limit is necessary and please don’t even consider speed bumps!!!! |
| 34 | Speed humps on the roads surrounding schools would be welcome |
| 35 | NA |
| 36 | How will it be enforced? |