Nursery children from the latest area of Edinburgh to ‘go 20’ displayed their road safety-themed artwork at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) yesterday as 20mph Phase 3 prepared to go live.
The Murrayfield Nursery children took centre stage at the launch, alongside Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes, 20mph mascot The Reducer and representatives from Police Scotland and National Galleries of Scotland.
Driving more slowly reduces the number and severity of casualties. A person is seven times more likely to survive if they are hit by a car driving at 20mph, than if they are hit at 30mph.
Calming traffic has widespread public support, with 65% of Scots in a recent poll in favour of a 20mph default limit in urban areas. Here in Edinburgh, a survey of more than 50,000 people earlier this year found 70% backed the Capital’s rollout.
Today marks the start of the third phase of the Capital’s citywide rollout of lower speeds to residential and shopping streets (as well as the city centre), with many roads across north west and west Edinburgh becoming 20mph, including Belford Road, which runs between the Modern One and Modern Two galleries.
Signs and road markings have been put in place across the Phase 3 areas, marking which streets have changed to 20mph. As with the whole rollout project, a strategic network of roads has been retained at 30mph and 40mph, such as Calder Road, Maybury Road, Queensferry Road (as far as the junction with Dean Park Crescent) and Lanark Road.
Police Scotland are supportive of the 20mph rollout and are carrying out enforcement, having handed out nearly 600 warnings and 26 tickets and made five reports to the Procurator Fiscal since the programme began.
Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “The Capital is blazing a trail by becoming the first city in Scotland to introduce slower speeds in all residential and shopping streets, as well as our city centre. We’re in excellent company internationally and closer to home – cities like New York, Paris, Milan and London are all championing the benefits of bringing speeds down in urban areas. And the World Health Organisation recently called for 30kmph (about 19mph) to be the limit ‘wherever motorised traffic mixes with pedestrians and cyclists.
“Calming traffic is better for everyone – first and foremost, it’s far safer, with anyone hit at 20mph SEVEN times more likely to survive than someone struck at 30mph. It’s quieter, too, and helps people feel more comfortable walking and cycling, creating more pleasant streets and neighbourhoods which boosts community cohesion and encourages support for local businesses as people choose to spend more time in an area.
“Smoother driving through less unnecessary acceleration and deceleration, coupled with an increase in people choosing active travel and public transport over private cars, means less congestion and better air quality for everyone.”
Simon Groom, Director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: “We are pleased to support this citywide initiative of slower speeds for many of Edinburgh’s roads and streets, which will greatly improve road safety for the hundreds of thousands of our annual visitors who make their way between the two gallery buildings of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art on Belford Road.”
Police Scotland Temporary Superintendent Mark Rennie said: “Road safety is a priority for police in Edinburgh, and we are continuing to work with the City of Edinburgh Council to raise awareness of the 20mph zones. We will continue to carry out proactive speed checks to enforce the limits where operational demands allow, with priority being given to new zones, areas around schools, and locations where there have been previous collisions where speed was a factor.”
Maxine Simpson-Smith, Manager of The Murrayfield Nursery, said: “Reducing the speed limit to 20mph is especially important to this area (Saughton Crescent) due to two children’s nurseries, a doctors’ surgery, care home for the elderly and many elderly residents living and working within the area. Saughton Crescent is used as a ‘rat run’ if Corstorphine Road is congested with traffic.
“Over 22 years working in the nursery I have witnessed many crashes/bumps, cyclists being knocked off their bikes, pedestrians getting beeped at because they are not fast enough when crossing the road and children running across the road and nearly being hit by fast drivers. So we welcome the 20mph speed limit to keep everyone in this area safe.”
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