Limit cut to just 20mph on over half of all London roads

THE speed limit on more than half of London's roads has been cut to 20mph in a bid to tackle speeding and improve safety, it can be revealed.

- Ross Lydall

The landmark figure has been achieved by Transport for London curtailing the limit on its Red Routes over the last decade, alongside restrictions introduced by borough councils in residential areas.

But it has sparked a debate about whether traffic on the capital's main thoroughfares is being unnecessarily slowed. Drivers are also increasingly at risk of being caught speeding.

Almost 125,000 speeding fines were issued in April and May and TfL wants the Metropolitan police to have the capacity to issue a million tickets a year from next April. TfL's safety committee was told today that 51 per cent of all roads in the capital now have a 20mph limit. This includes 16 per cent of TfL roads more than 88 miles of Red Routes - and 52 per cent of borough roads. Will Norman, London's walking and cycling commissioner, said: "This helps save lives."

He said Government surveys had found 78 per cent support for 20mph limits. "For pedestrians just crossing the road, we have seen falls of up to 60 per cent of people hit while they are walking," he told LBC. "This makes the city safer for absolutely everyone - not just people walking or people cycling, but people in the cars themselves."

Latest figures show that the number of people being killed or seriously injured (KSI) on London roads has fallen - but not by enough to hit Mayor Sadiq Khan's targets.

He wants a 70 per cent reduction in so-called KSIS by 2030 and zero road deaths by 2041. A further 50 miles of Red Routes will become 20mph over the next two years as TfL accelerates efforts to eradicate fatalities.