Removing speed bumps will reduce safety, transport charities say

Removing speed bumps will do little for air quality but will reduce safety, charity organisations have warned Michael Gove.

Living Streets has partnered up with Campaign for Better Transport and Cycling UK to write a letter to Gove expressing concerns at proposals in the government’s air quality plan for NO2 to remove traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps.

The charities have told Gove that they recognise the relationship between speed control and air pollution, but feel that removing speed control measures such as speed bumps would be at least an expensive diversion from addressing air quality and at worst a ‘dangerous and retrograde measure’.

They say that it is ‘not acceptable, nor is it necessary’ to reduce road safety in order to improve air quality. According to the organisations, air pollution hotspots arise from high volumes of traffic on major routes - not traffic calmed neighbourhoods.

The charities call for Gove to provide any evidence proving that the removal of speed humps would improve air quality and outweighs any possible public health disbenefits due to increased road injuries and fatalities. They say: “Local authorities should be able to demonstrate that any proposed alternative to speed humps is at least as effective in controlling speeds, preventing injuries and fatalities and improving public health for people of all ages and abilities, including children and other non-drivers.”

The letter says that the organisations will be responding in more detail to the UK plan in due course, but would also like to comment on other points at this time, including that they strongly welcome the proposals to commit £100 million for bus retrofit and towards new low emission buses, and that they regret the low priority given to charging-based Clean Air Zones.