Faversham in Kent is set to become the first town in the UK subject to a town-wide 20mph speed limit following a recent decision by the local highway authority, Kent County Council (KCC), informed by feasibility studies by PJA.
Faversham is a small harbour town a short way inland from the Thames Estuary. Because the town is almost a natural cul-de-sac, its streetscape character is much more traditional, with the contiguous urban area being untouched by major road improvements that other towns in Kent received in the second half of the 20th century. The compact nature of the town means there is significant scope for local journeys to be made on foot or by cycle, however local people have expressed concerns about a road network that doesn’t adequately cater for these modes. Local people have therefore recognised the importance of a more balanced street network, and a town-wide 20mph limit is seen as important component of that.
PJA was first appointed by the Town Council’s “20’s Plenty Working Group” to set the context of a town-wide limit in 2016. Our initial assessment concluded that many of the town’s streets exhibited the typical characteristics of streets where 20mph limits could be introduced consistent with best practice from other places with extensive 20mph schemes. We also suggested that there was scope for low-cost design measures to be introduced to create a road environment that is consistent with a 20mph limit, a key factor in compliance and enforcement, on those roads where higher speeds might be encountered.
This investigation helped continue local momentum, which led to KCC identifying streets that it felt met the conditions for a 20mph speed limit as set out in the Department for Transport’s (DfT) 2013 Circular “Setting Local Speed Limits”. KCC then collected speed and flow data on streets where it felt more study was needed.
Armed with PJA’s initial assessment and KCC’s subsequent work, Faversham Town Council then commissioned PJA in 2018 to undertake a more detailed feasibility study. PJA were able to make use of MasterMap speed data provided to Faversham Town Council by Ordnance Survey Ltd, which uses mobile phone and GPS device tracking to provide speed data on entire lengths of roads. This contrasts with KCC’s Automatic Traffic Counter (ATC) surveys which take a specific snapshot at a single point on a road. Because of the need to site ATCs away from places that may result in faulty data, like junctions and crossings, ATC sites end up reporting the upper range of speed data on any given link.
The MasterMap data showed that average speeds throughout the town were below the 24mph threshold set by the DfT Circular in all but a couple of streets where the proposed limit was being considered. PJA’s 2018 study was therefore able to recommend that the town-wide 20mph should go ahead based on DfT guidance. Our study proposed a boundary that reflected the technical context, and KCC’s and others local stakeholders’ views. This work also led to KCC implementing a change to its 20mph Policy, meaning our methodology also supports other communities in Kent wishing to adopt a 20mph speed limit by following the same principles.
The town-wide 20mph limit boundary recommended by PJA in 2018 was adopted by KCC who implemented it during Summer 2020 as part of an Experimental Traffic Order. PJA undertook design work for the necessary signage and road markings required and have since been involved in developing complementary measures to further support road safety in the town
PJA would like to acknowledge the assistance of Ordnance Survey, who provided the MasterMap speed data as a free trial sample. The use of this data was instrumental in providing a much more comprehensive picture of traffic speeds across the town that would be possible using ATCs, even if placed on every single street.
For more information, please contact [email protected]
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