20mph school speed limits in place by end of 2012

20mph road sign

Speed limits of 20mph will be implemented outside all schools by the end of next year.

A decision to introduce the speed limit outside all schools was made at a cabinet meeting last month.

The move, was welcomed by Councillor Jane Gartside who said she “fully supported” the implementation.

However, Councillor Liz Thirsk, accused Council Leader Colin Lambert, of “headline grabbing.”

She questioned if the legal work and costing had been done with regards to introducing the speed limits and asked if the schools’ own transports plan would be taken away.

Councillor Lambert slammed the suggestion, saying there would be “no gimmicks with children’s lives.”

Councillor Lambert added the plans were fully costed and fully legal.

To implement 20mph outside all schools the type of ‘treatment’ varies dependent on the location.
 
The types of limits are:

• 20mph speed limit - requires the introduction of a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) with associated road signs and repeater signs.
• 20mph zone - also requires the introduction of a TRO but must be made self enforcing by the use of traffic calming features.
• Part time 20mph speed limit - requires a TRO but will also require special authorisation from the DfT.
• Advisory limits - do not require the use of a TRO but may require DFT approval dependent on the type of signage used.

The only option for funding the scheme is additional capital funding. There will however be a 10% or £103,300 borrowing cost associated with this. For this to be met within the existing Highways & Engineering revenue budget, reductions within other areas of the service will need to be made. Options available are noted below:
 

• Reduction in the budget provision for festive lights (2011/12 budget £93,200).
• Reduction in the budget provision for planned maintenance schemes devolved to townships (2011/12 budget £214,800)

The Chairwoman of Rochdale Township, Councillor Wera Hobhouse, said: "Labour is finally showing their true colours because they are going to finance the 20mph zones across the borough by taking away money from our devolved Township budgets. It means that Labour is paying lip service to their commitment to Townships. Liberal Democrats have always argued that the implementation of 20mph around schools should be a decision for townships because it works much better if these decisions are made as local as possible and not one size fits all.

“Now local people are once again being disempowered and dictated to from the centre. Devolving money from the centre to townships for local decision making had been one of the Liberal Democrats big achievements in the last five years but under Labour we are now going backwards."