20mph schemes given greenlight in Cambridgeshire
It comes days after the Prime Minister said he wanted to stop 20mph zones being introduced across the UK
Councillors have given the greenlight to a new scheme which will see 20 mph zones introduced across Cambridgeshire.
Cambridgeshire County Council has agreed 20 areas where it plans to prioritise introducing the lower speed limits.
The authority hopes the 20mph speed limit will improve safety and encourage more people to walk and cycle rather than using a car for shorter journeys.
Officers at a meeting of the county council highways and transport committee said the scheme was oversubscribed with 88 applications made by community groups and parish and town councils.
Councillors have agreed to prioritise 20 initial schemes for funding in 2023/24, which is estimated will cost the county council £348,000.
The projects that were not picked for funding this year will remain on the ranked list for the 2024/25 round of funding.
Councillor Alex Beckett said it was “fantastic” to see the amount of interest from communities for the 20mph zones.
Councillor Lorna Dupré said: “The oversubscription of the scheme demonstrates how popular road safety schemes are and how many communities want to see traffic calmed in their villages, their towns, and their communities.
“I am pleased to hear we are looking for additional resources to meet the huge demand there is for safer streets, for people to walk, cycle safely, for children to be able to cross the road and for parents to be less anxious about their children going out streets; this is the direction we should be going in.”
Councillor Bill Hunt said he was supportive of 20mph limits in certain places, particularly near schools and in the centre of villages and towns.
However, he said he had concerns about the blanket introduction, which he said was being considered in Ely.
The 20 projects included on the prioritised list and the estimated cost of the schemes are:
- Cottenham (villagewide) – £27,000
- Fulbourn (majority of village) – £18,000
- Whittlesford (villagewide) – £18,000
- Girton (extend the current 20mph zone to remainder of village) – £5,000
- Meldreth (majority of village) – £18,000
- Orwell (villagewide) – £18,000
- Gt Wilbraham (villagewide) – £18,000
- Willingham (villagewide) – £18,000
- Fowlmere (majority of village) – £5,000
- Upwood and The Raveleys (parishwide on all eligible 30mph roads) – £18,000
- Oakington and Westwick (extend the current 20mph zone to include Westwick) – £5,000
- Gt Abington (High Street and Linton Road) – £18,000
- Wicken (villagewide) – £18,000
- Elton (majority of village) – £18,000
- Linton (villagewide) – £27,000
- Houghton and Wyton (villagewide) – £18,000
- Burwell (villagewide) – £27,000
- Hilton (villagewide) – £18,000
- Gt Staughton (majority of village) – £18,000
- Harlton (villagewide) – £18,000