Controversy over Mount Avenue Birkdale Road 20mph zone
The proposed implementation of a 20mph zone in the Ealing area is causing a sharp difference of opinion between the Association of British Drivers and the local Green Party.
The zone stretches from Eaton Rise in the west to Hanger Lane in the east and from Madeley Road in the south to Brunswick Road in the north. It is called the Mount Avenue Birkdale Road 20mph zone. There is a consultation running and responses are wanted by 22 January. The Association of British Drivers (ABD) is campaigning against the plans to introduce road humps which the Greens say endangers the proposal as a whole.
The ABD) has launched a campaign to stop more speed humps being installed in Park View Road, Corfton Road, West Road, Mount Park Road, Mount Avenue, Montpelier Road and Helena Road. Some 33 humps are being proposed as part of a wide area traffic calming scheme which is about to go to public consultation. However local ABD members have already started circulating a leaflet in the streets likely to be affected which urges residents to oppose these plans.
A spokesperson for the ABD said, "this scheme is typical of the outdated approach to road safety in Ealing. Other London boroughs such as Barnet and Bromley have ceased installing speed humps without any detrimental effect on road accident figures. In fact by using alternative measures they have better road casualty reduction statistics than those boroughs such as Ealing who have persisted with such measures."
Ealing Green Party say that research on 20mph zones shows they reduce accidents by 45% and a person hit at 20mph has a 95% chance of surviving. Deaths and serious injuries to child pedestrians and cyclists are reduced by 60% according to research they quote. Friends of the Earth say missions of toxic gases and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are reduced in the zones. The ABD suggests that speed humps cause pain and suffering to many people with existing medical conditions, and can delay emergency service vehicles. They also cause more atmospheric pollution, more road noise, damage vehicles and increase the cost of road maintenance.
Suneil Basu of the Ealing Green Pary said, "We recognise that there are mixed views about road humps. If people are in favour of a 20mph zone but do not like the road hump proposals, they should say so in their response to the consultation. If Ealing Council and Transport for London get this message, they can alter the proposal. It would be a tragedy if the concept of a 20mph zone and all the benefits it could bring were abandoned just because of certain road humps."
The ABD is an independent organisation which represents the interests of private motorists in the United Kingdom. They campaign to protect the rights of individual road users and believe that road transport is a beneficial and essential element in the UK transport infrastructure.
January 9, 2007
|