Member Article

Twenty's Plenty for residential areas

A new scheme gets underway in Newcastle this week to encourage motorists to take more care when driving through residential areas. The “Twenty’s Plenty” scheme will see advisory 20mph speed limits introduced on the city’s streets. Although these signs are advisory, City Council engineers expect that reminding drivers that they are travelling through residential areas where children may be playing will make them take extra care and reduce their speed.

Newcastle City Council has decided to introduce advisory speed limits instead of formal ones because the process is quicker and less expensive. Other methods of reducing speed in residential areas include traffic calming measures such as speed humps, which are unpopular with drivers and many residents.

In order to measure the effectiveness of the advisory scheme, the City Council will pilot it at eight locations across Newcastle over the next six months. Traffic signs will be erected and vehicle speeds will be monitored to see if drivers are responding to the advice. The first two schemes, at Falconar Street in Shieldfield and Hollywood Avenue in Gosforth, are being installed this week.

Councillor Mike Cookson, Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “Most people take care when driving through residential areas anyway, but there are some who do not consider road conditions properly. These advisory signs should encourage safer driving while avoiding the costs and delays associated with formal speed limits and the introduction of the kinds of traffic calming measures that can annoy the driving public.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .