This Council notes:

Hackney residents cycle more than those in any other London borough. Hackney has some of the highest levels of walking in London. Hackney is encouraging more residents and their children to cycle and walk. Many of these trips occur on Hackney’s busy roads.

That there are high levels of exposure to traffic collisions resulting in road crashes and injury. If the council continues to be successful in promoting active travel this exposure will increase.

All Hackney’s residential streets are now within 20mph zones. Our neighbouring borough, Islington, intends to introduce 20mph limits on all the roads it controls. The proposal includes working in partnership with Hackney, through an initial trial for a year, to introduce this speed limit on the roads Islington shares with Hackney.

That the police are reluctant to enforce a 20mph limit on the main road network that is not self enforcing.

This Council:

i) Welcomes the initiative taken by Islington Council and the trial by Hackney Council on its roads;

ii) Wishes to build on the success of the introduction of slower speeds on residential roads, but is concerned that the lack of any proper means of enforcement will undermine this initiative;

iii) Resolves to seek to persuade the police to work with the Council to introduce an enforceable 20 mph limit on the roads controlled by Hackney Council.

iv) Resolves that officers are instructed to monitor and evaluate the trial so the Council can assess whether the remainder of Hackney primary route network can be subjected to a 20mph limit without the use of self enforcing measures and in doing so considers any possible impacts on residential streets.

v) Resolves to lobby TfL to look at lower speeds to complement our approach, especially around town centres such as Shoreditch, Dalston and Stoke Newington.

 

Proposer: Cllr Vincent Stops

Seconder: Cllr Feryal Demirci