What’s the Tory Story on ‘20 is Plenty’?
From the Facebook postings of County Council Conservative leader Barry Lewis, it would seem that the controlling Conservative group have apparently decided that road safety is, after all, a good thing, even when it costs money.
They have said they are prepared to 'introduce speed reduction schemes and clean air zones in towns and villages where people support it'.
This will ring very hollow to the countless groups representing villages and communities who over the last few years have brought their requests for '20 is plenty' schemes to Cllr Simon Spencer and have heard the same message. …Padfield showed it didn't work...police enforcement is needed….there isn't enough money...and then turned down their request.
Lib Dem County Cllr Sue Burfoot from Matlock has campaigned for a long time to try to get a 20 mph limit introduced in Starkholmes. We ran an article on this in 2020.
Sue is not alone. Charlotte Farrell from the '20's Plenty for Derbyshire' group said "After DCC installed one 'trial' area in Padfield and, based solely on the results of that one badly implemented scheme, councillors refused 20mph for any other Derbyshire location.
"Furthermore it selectively misinterpreted the Government's own report of 2018 into 20mph. That report actually found that where 20mph had been introduced, people did walk and cycle more and that drivers reduced their speed significantly.
"Knowing the beneficial effect walking and cycling have on health it might be thought that DCC would reconsider their policy in the light of the pandemic and changes to travel - but no, the Cabinet recently confirmed they were following their existing flawed and out of date strategy"
As recently as this January Cllr Spencer is quoted as saying that he wanted to make Derbyshire as safe as possible, 'but introducing 20mph zones in every town and village in the county would cost millions of pounds and would involve getting Traffic Regulation order consultations with organisations. It would mean consulting with the police about changing speed limit.
Cllr Spencer conceded that 20mph zones outside schools are a sensible option but did not want to create blanket '20 is Plenty' areas which would be costly, involve engineering works and may not always be needed. In considering any speed changes DCC would need to look at the accident record on the particular road and the various options it could take, including possibly huge engineering works - it was not simply a case of 'putting up signs'. (Source Glossop Chronicle Jan 29th 2021).
That does NOT sound like introducing the 20 mph schemes in 'every town and village where people support it'!
Had Cllr Lewis forgotten to copy Cllr Spencer in on the memo concerning the change in policy?
And why this sudden change of heart?
Oh yes, there is an election on May 6th.