Safer streets, better places

Upcoming campaign

We’re developing a campaign to remind people that 20mph is now the standard urban speed limit in the Brighton & Hove. 

It allows drivers time to react to the unexpected in a busy urban environment, provides a calmer space for active forms of travel to co-exist with powered transport.   

The 20mph limit has been in place for nearly a decade in the city and has led to a reduction in average speeds. We want to encourage more active travel and minimise serious casualties on our roads. 

2015 20mph speed limit

Phase 3 approved

Phase 3 of extending the 20mph areas was approved at the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on Tuesday 17 March 2015.

Which roads are involved?

The roads involved are in:

• Portslade 
• Mile Oak 
• Hangleton (roads to the west of Hangleton Way will retain their existing limits)  
• Rottingdean 
• Ovingdean
• Saltdean (where lower limits will only be introduced around the school and park roads)
• Hove (Medina Terrace, King’s Esplanade, Sussex Street and St Aubyns​ and around Hove Park)

​​Detailed maps of the streets involved will be published here by the end of March 2015.

When will the new 20mph areas start?

​​It is expected the new 20mph limits will be operational from June 2015.

Consultation and reports

The final round of consultation from advertised traffic orders resulted in nine responses in support of 20mph areas, five relating to the Hangleton area, and one objection relating to the Hangleton area. Those in favour mentioned school routes and safer streets as reasons for their support of a reduced speed limit.

• View the reports for the environment, transport and sustainability committee 20mph is agenda item no. 96
• View the decision details for phase 3 of 20mph.

Why 20mph?

The aim of introducing the 20mph limit is to improve the street environment for all road users, including car drivers, by reducing the number and severity of collisions and casualties on the city’s roads, making the city a safer and better place to live in.

We hope that making the streets safer and more pleasant to use will encourage more cycling and walking, especially for local trips. This will not only bring road safety benefits, but will also help to improve overall health and wellbeing, reduce congestion and could improve air quality.

A wide range national and international research shows that 20mph speed limits lead to a reduction in road collisions and the severity of casualties, improves in the quality of life of local neighbourhoods and can encourage more walking and cycling for local trips.

A Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents study showed that at 20mph there was a 2.5% chance of pedestrians being fatally injured, compared to a 20% chance at 30mph. A Department for Transport paper on setting local speed limits reports that on urban roads with low average traffic speeds, any 1mph reduction in average speed can reduce the frequency of collision frequency by around 6%.

Here in Brighton & Hove the first, interim, results from the Phase 1 area show that the first year of 20mph limits in the city centre has seen positive results. Traffic speed has reduced on 74% of roads, collisions numbers are down, as are casualty numbers and there have been no fatalities from traffic collisions in the area.

Casualty figures for the 20mph Phase 1 area - 8 April 2013 to 7  April 2014 

Where it's the limit, it's the law...

20mph is now the legal speed limit on most roads in central Brighton & Hove and many residential roads across the city - please look out for the signs.

Where 20mph limits are installed, they are both legal and enforceable.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1984, local authorities have the legal power to set speed limits on roads under their control.

The limits are enforceable by the police and speed guns can detect speeds below 20mph.

Please remember, where it's the limit, it's the law.

Frequently asked questions

Why are you proposing more 20mph limits?

Following the implementation of phases 1 and 2 of the 20mph programme, we have received increasing numbers of requests from residents in the rest of the city to be consulted on reducing the speed limits on their local streets. ​

National and international research clearly shows that a 20mph speed limit leads to a reduction in road collisions and the severity of casualties, improves in the quality of life of local neighbourhoods.

A Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents study showed that at 20mph there was a 2.5% chance of pedestrians being fatally injured, compared to a 20% chance at 30mph. A Department for Transport paper on setting local speed limits also reports that, on urban roads with low average traffic speeds, any 1mph reduction in average speed can reduce the frequency of collision frequency by around 6%.

Which roads will be included?

The city centre was phase 1 of the 20mph scheme (PDF 5.8mb) to introduce the speed limit for residential and shopping streets in the city, approved at Transport Committee in January 2013. The 20mph limit was introduced in central Brighton & Hove in April 2013 and is now legally enforceable. Limits for the phase 2 streets (PDF 2.69mb) were introduced on 16 June 2014. Streets in Mile Oak, Hangleton, Woodingdean, Ovingdean, Saltdean, Rottingdean and Medina Terrace are included in phase 3 of the proposals.

A 20mph limit or ‘blanket ban’ across the entire city has never been part of the proposals

How much is this costing?

The overall project budget is £1.5m spread over three to four years but this will be reviewed annually. The actual budget spend to date has been:

• 2012 - 2013: £326,134.68
• 2013 - 2014: £333,245.36

The funding for the programme is capital funding received from the national government’s Department for Transport. This funding is not allowed to be used for things such as refuse collection, social services or other revenue expenditures.

How long will it take to implement the proposal?

The 20mph speed limit was introduced in the city centre in April 2013, and to the phase 2 streets from 16 June 2014. If any new 20mph limits are agreed for the Phase 3 areas, we anticipate that these would be implemented in May/June 2015.