In a bid to support the changing living and commuting habits of today’s Londoners, the City Corporation are pushing a new 15mph speed limit around the Square Mile.
For those in courier work, this could not only mean a safer working environment, but a cleaner one too. This decision to push the new strategy is following a public consultation that took place last year and has been helped along with various proposals. Recent road monitoring has also played a part, revealing surprising statistics about the changes to London’s streets.
What’s Changed?
Those in courier work may have noticed that many people in the city travel by foot, and it has been officially revealed that almost 90% of journeys made in London are partially or completely walked. This might seem unbelievable because of the city’s constant flow of traffic, but it’s true. You can’t deny that this reveals how quickly the times are changing.
In addition, data has shown that the number of vehicles found on the Square Mile has actually decreased by almost half in just 20 years, and cycling has increased by 292% since 1999. Who says we aren’t trying to save the planet?
Slowly Does It
With a quickly changing environment comes new rules, and hopes are high that the speed limit change will soon be put in place. The strategy is currently subject to government approval, but since it promises cleaner air, efficient use of street space and a generally reduced flow of traffic, how can they turn it down?
The chair of the planning and transportation committee, Alastair Moss, is optimistic that the new strategy will give the city’s residents hope for the future and ‘deliver the forward-thinking city that Londoners want to see’.
Courier work business will certainly reap the benefits of this change – less traffic and better air quality will make the working environment much more pleasant and, of course, make deliveries slightly easier!
The Long Term Goals
If the strategy is successful, the long term goal is for the action to spread across the UK to slowly decrease the number of polluting vehicles on our roads. The City Corporation will also be launching a new cycling network to encourage commuters to swap their Bentley for a bike. The accessibility of bike hire facilities will also be improved.
Subject to approval by the Department for Transport, the new speed limit will be implemented sometime in 2021 or 2022, but the programme starting other environmentally-friendly changes will begin later this year.
If you’re in courier work, prepare for change: the planning and transportation committee, along with the government, will be considering the plan later this summer. With everyone keen to go green, the strategy is sure to be approved.
Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier work in the express freight exchange industry. Numerous transport exchange businesses are networked together on their website, trading jobs and capacity through what is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.
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