The London Question: Should there be more 20mph roads in the capital?

Speed limits on more roads in London could be cut to 20mph after research said they helped to cut collisions and injuries to pedestrians and cyclists.
More than half of the capital’s roads have been limited to 20mph since 2023 due to the increase in borough-wide 20mph zones and Transport for London’s use of the lower limit across its “Red Routes” network of main roads.
Now research commissioned by TfL on the safety benefits of 20mph has given the green light for more speed cuts – especially as no evidence was found that 20mph limits increased congestion.
It found there were 35 per cent fewer collisions and 36 per cent fewer casualties on borough roads where 20mph zones had been introduced.
In particular, children were even less likely to be hurt – with a 50 per cent reduction in casualties and 75 per cent reduction in fatalities.
Will Norman, the mayor’s walking and cycling commissioner, said: “This compelling new analysis shows clearly that lowering speeds is saving lives.

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Going 20 mph is like it’s like punishment. I think I’m a bit of a stressful driver, so I quite like going slow, especially when it’s so busy. I think there should be more 20 mph speed limit roads, but not in places like Haringay. They seem to only pick areas that are more deprived and then catch people out for going 2 miles up the speed limit and then charge them for overpriced speeding tickets. 20 mph. I get why they do it because if people hit you at a certain speed, I’ve had a crash at about 15 mph and it is impactful. Yeah. But going 20 mph is like literally feels like you’re walking. 20 mph roads only means that there’s going to be more cars in more areas on more congested roads, therefore more pollution. There’s a lot of traffic congestion because of the 20 m an hour. And if you are trying to get a work on the bus, sometimes you’re on the bus for ages. It’s quicker to walk. I I think it’s always good to um protect um protect our pedestrians, but also the one thing probably to think about is there’s probably there probably will be higher high congestions. So, I suppose that’s probably just a trade-off, but I think safety always first. I think there should be more 20 mph roads cuz it does save lives cuz I’ve had a crash at 15 mph. My head hit the windscreen. I just thought about it. So, yeah, I do think there should be more 20s. People don’t uh come at me for that, [Music]