Buxton residents invited to information event on plans for 20mph speed limit

As previously reported, in January the council’s cabinet announced its intention to pilot the new lower limit in Buxton as part of its Green Towns initiative to make communities healthier and safer and reduce their environmental impact.

Before rolling out the plan – and to help monitor its impact later on – the authority is seeking feedback from people living and working in Buxton, such as whether they think it would make a difference to the environment, their choices about how to travel, road safety, air quality and their general health and wellbeing.

Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, cabinet member for highways assets and transport, said: “We wanted to give local people another chance to find out more about our Greener Towns initiative.

“We think that a 20mph limit could improve health by improving air quality and hopefully get more people out of their cars and walk or cycle to make short local journeys, but would like to know what people think.”

An initial consultation period ended in April but as part of that same process, there will be a further drop-in information session at the Pump Room, on the Crescent, on Thursday, May 25, 3-8.30pm.

Apart from the in-person event, people will be able to submit their thoughts on the plan online at derbyshire.gov.uk/greenertowns anytime between Thursday, May 18, and Friday, June 9.

The Buxton pilot, and another in the Erewash town of Long Eaton, would be the largest trials of 20mph limits which the council has undertaken, and that scale should allow for more useful data than smaller neighbourhoods where the limit is already in place.

The change would apply to Buxton town centre, parts of Fairfield, Lightwood Road, Long Hill, Dale Road, Burlington Road and other residential areas and involve signed limits, rather than physical measures such as speed bumps.

Buxton was identified as a good testing ground due to the proportion of the population working close to home, meaning there is greater potential for people to shift to walking or cycling for short journeys if those modes of transport can be encouraged by better road conditions.

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