Call for More Enforcement of Speed Limits in Ealing
Debate prompted by photos on social media of wrecked car
Car crash on Greenford Avenue with sign saying 'Ealing Council does someone have to die before you address the issue with speed on this road???' Picture: Twitter
June 7, 2023
Ealing residents say that speeding on the borough’s smaller streets will end up with someone being killed if intervention isn’t taken.
An image of a car wreckage with a sign reading “Ealing Council – does someone have to die before you address the issue with speed on this road???” shared on social media has caused an outpouring of anger by the community who say speed limits simply aren’t being enforced in the borough.
Although unclear if the car wreckage of the car on Greenford Avenue is an example of an incident involving speeding, the image alongside the message to the council has brought the issue into the spotlight. Residents say that strict enforcement of speed limits on Ealing’s main roads has pushed the issue of speeding cars into residential streets where there is less scrutiny.
Residents claim the problem appears to be widespread and getting worse. Mark Uddin, of Windsor Road, said, “What I’ve observed particularly in recent months is that speeding has transferred from main roads to residential streets, once they got rid of the LTNs about two years ago I see cars speeding every day. People realise they can’t speed on the main roads and they decided to speed on residential streets instead.”
The result is roads that feel unsafe for ordinary residents despite their 20 mph speed limits. These speed limits, which are the responsibility of the council, are not actually enforced by it – that falls to the local police.
In response to the incendiary car wreckage post, Cllr Polly Knewstub said, “Local councils are not responsible for speeding enforcement – it is a matter for the police. Ealing Council DID however introduce the borough-wide 20-mile-an-hour speed limit. 20mph limits are proven to reduce death or serious injury by 20% and collisions by 25%.”
However, Mr Uddin says the lack of enforcement on smaller roads makes the speed limit irrelevant. “There is no enforcement. I see cars flying along, it’s just crazy. The problem is, that if we were very very lucky the police would show up to Windsor Road. But there are no cameras, if you want roads to be slower you need to physically slow them down.”
He points out that although the council isn’t in charge of enforcement they could introduce traffic calming measures such as speed bumps and give way islands to force cars to slow down. However, he says he is worried these types of measures might come too late.
Referring to a video he captured of a car speeding down his street, Mr Uddin says, “I want action before someone dies. If a child had run out then something terrible would have happened.
“Speed calming measures are the only answer if you were serious about reducing the danger. If it was the Mayor owned street you would be fine but because it is a borough street the council say there is no money.”
This is a sentiment mirrored by Angela, another Ealing resident. She said: “There’s a lack of speed cameras in the borough. One has been removed on Northfield Ave and the only other one on that stretch is not issuing tickets and hasn’t for some time.
“Many motorists accelerate through the side streets where they seem to think they can’t be seen and many will have chosen the side routes specifically to avoid being held up by the traffic lights, zebras etc on the main roads. Even 20mph can be too fast for the conditions here (lots of crossroad junctions with on-street parking blocking visibility).
“We have speed bumps on our road but they have negligible impact on the big cars most people are driving today so very few vehicles slow down for them.
“At a local ward council meeting, there were a number of residents who expressed concern about speeding and aggressive drivers. Police from the local safer neighbourhood team were in attendance but didn’t take the issue as seriously as I would have liked.
“They mentioned plans to do speed checks but these would involve high viz which most would agree is pretty pointless. 2 months have passed since the meeting and nothing has been done.
“There have been numerous collisions and smashed walls in my neighbourhood alone and many don’t show up on crash map statistics.”
Inspector Leigh Ballard, of the Metropolitan Police, said in response to the picture posted on social media, “The Metropolitan Police Service considers the safety of all road users and pedestrians to be of utmost importance and works in partnership with Ealing Council to address road safety concerns.
“The local Safer Neighbourhoods Team has recently conducted several road speed campaigns with a positive response from the public. The team have a number of similar operations planned in the near future and is currently actively working with our traffic unit to review the collision rate for Uxbridge Road, Ealing.
“Following this incident, we will extend this reach and also review the collision rate on Greenford Avenue, Ealing.”
Cllr Deirdre Costigan, cabinet member for climate action said, “The council has introduced a borough-wide 20mph speed limit but government won’t give us the powers to enforce it. I wrote to the Secretary of State over a year ago to request that these powers be given to local councils, but they said no. So it remains for the police to enforce the speed limit but I will write again to government in light of this incident.
“Equally, the law does not allow our CCTV cameras to be used to enforce speeding offences. Only specialist police cameras can be used.”
“Physical changes to street layouts can be looked at but we know there are often different views about what works and we are determined to work with local people on solutions rather than impose changes on them. In the meantime council officers are checking 20mph signage on the road to see if it needs refreshing.
“We will continue to do everything we can to ensure the safety of Ealing residents and visitors, and to make our roads safer and more appealing for cyclists and pedestrians, but it is also the responsibility of drivers to obey the law and not to speed.”
Rory Bennett - Local Democracy Reporter