Plans to speed up introduction of 20mph speed limits prompting complaints about lack of enforcement of existing restrictions
Barnet Council is preparing a new procedure to allow residents to apply for a 20mph speed limit on side roads where they think driving is too fast and poses a danger to pedestrians and a risk of traffic accidents.
Stapylton Road – see above – and Salisbury Road are two residential streets close to High Barnet town centre which are thought to be at the top of the list for a reduction in the limit from 30mph to 20mph following speed surveys conducted last year.
A draft policy to allow residents to apply for lower speed limits has been agreed at a council cabinet meeting and is about to go out for public consultation.
While the council’s recognition of the need for more speed limits has been welcomed, residents in some roads where there is already a 20mph limit or traffic calming measures complain bitterly about a lack of enforcement.
Householders in Mays Lane, which is covered by a 20mph limit from the bottom of Barnet Hill and on through Underhill, complain regularly on social media about how many drivers take no notice.
They say that before the council agrees to any further 20mph zones it should install more repeater signs; more illuminated warnings of excessive speed; and investigate the possibility of installing speed cameras.
Once the new procedure for 20mph zones is in place, residents will be able to make an application via the council’s website as is already the case when people report potholes, damaged pavements or abandoned vehicles.
East Barnet councillor Simon Radford – cabinet member for finance – said the new process would finally give Barnet residents the ability to ask — and outline the case — for a 20mph zone in the roads where they live.
He had been working with residents to reduce speeding in East Barnet, and he hoped their concerns could now be addressed with an assessment by council staff as to where there should be signs and road markings or perhaps additional traffic calming measures such as a road narrowing or speed hump.
Speed humps have recently been installed on Mays Lane (at the junction with Manor Road) where for many years previously there had been a metal barrier enforcing a width restriction.
Removal of the width restriction has angered some householders who say large vans and small lorries — which had previously been prevented from using that section of Mays Lane – are again travelling too fast and posing a danger to pedestrians, especially to customers using the Mays Lane parade of shops.
There are two sets of illuminated speed warning signs along Mays Lane but for much of its length there are few if any reminders of the 20mph limit – except for the freshly-painted signs on the road outside Underhill School and Children’s Centre.
Queens Road – leading to Queen Elizabeth’s Boys’ School and the Queen’s Road Estate – is another road where residents complain about the lack of enforcement of a 20mph speed limit.
There is only one reminder sign halfway along the road and a 20mph sign painted on the road which is so worn down it is barely visible.
Salisbury Road and Stapylton Road are likely to be prioritised by the council for a 20mph zone because of long-standing concern about speeding.
Stapylton Road by-passes Barnet High Street and is a heavily used link between the roundabout at the Black Horse public house and St Albans Road.
When parking spaces are full, the curve on the carriageway makes it difficult to see fast approaching vehicles on what is a popular cut through.
The lower section of Salisbury Road – from Stapylton Road to High Street – is largely one way but busier than the upper section because it is on the route for five bus services – 234 (Spires-Archway); 326 (Spires-Brent Cross); 383 (Finchley Memorial Hospital); 384 (Edgware-Cockfosters); and 399 (Hadley Wood).
Lowering the existing 30mph limit on Salisbury and Stapylton Roads would extend the 20mph limit which already applies in Alston Road (from the junction with Marriott Road to Salisbury Road) and the 20mph limits on Wentworth Road and Byng Road which serve Foulds and Christ Church primary schools and the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice.
6 thoughts on “Plans to speed up introduction of 20mph speed limits prompting complaints about lack of enforcement of existing restrictions”
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The expansion of 20mph zones in Barnet, particularly around Underhill, is causing increased traffic and congestion. Roadworks and other traffic measures have made the situation even worse, especially near schools. As someone living on a road that was changed to 20mph without any consultation, I’m frustrated by the lack of communication from both the council and the Barnet Society. It seems decisions are being made without input from the people directly affected.
The claim that these measures are “welcomed” doesn’t reflect the views of many residents. What we actually need are more School Streets — for example, Westcombe Drive has become a dangerous rat run, yet the council insists it can’t be closed because it’s a bus route. Ironically, the 84B bus has since been rerouted to use Westcombe Drive — again, with no consultation.
It’s no surprise people aren’t sticking to 20mph when the measures feel arbitrary and wasteful. Instead of tackling real issues like potholes, abandoned cars, or traffic problems created by the new Ark Academy, the council has chosen to spend money resurfacing pavements. All this was supposedly funded through a Section 106 agreement with the school, but residents were left out of the process entirely.
It’s frustrating to live in one of London’s most expensive boroughs for council tax, yet see money spent on vanity projects while basic infrastructure is neglected. Many of us opposed the placement of the Ark school on Westcombe Drive from the start — and sadly, our concerns have come true.
ANPR speed cameras are very expensive to install, so the council won’t be going down that route.
Barnet council seem to think speed cushions are a good deterrent but they don’t often work and cause more pollution.
The increase in rat running is down to the widespread use in satnavs. The only real solution is to block one end of the street entirely to re-route satnavs, and therefore eliminate (speeding) traffic altogether. This does work and is very beneficial for residents… in the long term. But residents need to be adaptable to this and willing change their own routine.
satnav apps have the ability to mark roads as unfavoured/neutral/preffered (https://www.waze.com/discuss/t/road-attributes/375463) and these can be updated in (https://www.waze.com/en-GB/editor). Roads like Stapylton Rd, Salisbury Road, Mays Lane are all bus routes, so they are probably considered main routes.
If you think you’ve got problems with speed on Mays Lane, try living at the Hadley end of the high street where cars in the late evening regularly roar along at 60-70mph
same with wood st, i was in a taxi the other day that managed to get up to 50mph along the straight section past the church (until i shouted at him to slow down) – this kind of speed is not uncommon. I think 20 is a good idea but that and the existing 30 zones need to be enforced
As a long time Mays Lane resident I raised this exact point during the “consultation” phase. The speed at which cars regularly speed along this stretch of road was (and continues to be) frightening particularly when walking along narrow walkways with young children. Unsurprisingly this point was entirely ignored by the council making a total mockery of the whole objective. Speed cameras are the only way to mitigate this persistent issue.