£740k spent on 20mph zones in Essex
Data reveals efforts by Essex County Council to enhance Road Safety, reduce emissions, and prioritize sustainable travel
Last updated 25th Aug 2023
More than £740,000 has been spent on introducing 20 mph schemes to a number of towns and cities in Essex, according to data released by Essex County Council.
Several of these zones form part of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), many of which were established during the Covid-19 pandemic through allocation of the government’s Active Travel Fund (ATF).
LTNs are collections of residential streets bordering main roads which carry the flow of non-local traffic, buses and lorries. Residents and delivery drivers retain priority, with through traffic being discouraged or eliminated entirely.
Areas in Essex bookmarked for the development of LTNs and 20 mph zones by the council in August 2020 included Wickford (Basildon), Braintree, Brentwood, Chelmsford and Colchester.
In conjunction with the Active Travel Fund, which has been delivered in three tranches between May 2020 and May 2022, the introduction of LTNs and increased number of 20 mph zones aims to boost sustainable travel, decrease carbon emissions and improve road safety across the country.
The combined expenditure on Braintree, Colchester and Wickford 20 mph zones, which are all subject to individual schemes, was £221,270 as part of the second tranche of ATF funding.
Select streets across Braintree, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Colchester and Wickford were awarded an additional £521, 795 of funding as part of the ATF’s ‘School Street Designation’, enforcing a 20 mph speed limit in roads and neighbourhoods where schools are located or there is a high number of school-aged children.
Not including two larger infrastructure projects in Chelmsford and Brentwood, this brings the total amount of money spent on establishing 20 mph across the county in the last three years to £743,065.
The Department for Transport released figures showing that 2,456 children aged under 16 were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads last year.
Earlier this year Lucy Straker, campaigns manager of road safey charity Brake, said of introducing more ‘School Street Designation’ 20 mph speed limits: ““Why do we have to wait until a child is killed before we act?”
“We’re calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits – and other measures to effectively reduce traffic speed – so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day.”
Many drivers have backed plans to introduce 20 mph speed limits in their local areas, although government data published in January 2022 revealed that an average of nine out of ten UK motorists were found to speed in 20 mph zones. This may be because 20 mph roads are often quieter, or drivers haven’t realised that the lower limit is in effect.