The International Federation of Pedestrians fully endorses the 2020 Stockholm Declaration, mandating “a maximum road travel speed of 30 km/h in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix”.
As these traffic mixes occur everywhere in all urban areas, the full urban area should have a default maximum speed of 30 km/h or 20mph. Higher maximum speeds could be accepted on a limited number of well-defined major roads provided that “strong evidence exists that higher speeds are safe” on those specific roads. On the other hand, many urban streets should be designed for 20 km/h, which offers an additional important step forward towards life quality for residents and visitors, young and old, or even walking speeds (for specific areas).
We urge that this approach should be legislated as a national law. Although redesigning the streetscape often is the most effective way to achieve speed compliance, the costs involved should never be a reason to delay implementation. As such, deployment of intermediate fast and cheap design for temporary traffic calming is highly welcomed.
Launched during the 6th UN Road Safety Week, you can find the position paper here.