As police crack down on 20mph speed limit on Dover House Road


Cllr Cook joined police in their traffic speed crackdown on Dover House Road

Drivers ignoring the 20mph limit in a residential area of West Putney have been targeted by the Met Police in a crackdown on speeding vehicles.

On Friday morning (9 September) traffic officers, supported by council staff, carried out speed checks in Dover House Road – a long, straight road linking Putney Heath with the South Circular.

During Friday’s operation 35 motorists were caught breaking the limit, with the fastest caught travelling at 31mph. All 35 will now be receiving official warning letters from the police telling them that if they are caught again they will be prosecuted. Six other drivers who were caught using their mobile phones are to face further action, along with two others who were not wearing seat belts.

Dover House Road was one of the first in the borough where residents successfully called for the introduction of a lower speed limit. Following a borough-wide consultation earlier this year a 20mph limit is now being introduced in almost all residential roads in Wandsworth.

The council’s transport spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook, who was with the Police on Friday said: “This police operation will have been warmly welcomed by people living in Dover House Road who want to see action taken against drivers who break the speed limit. Taking steps to slow down traffic in residential areas like Dover House Road makes streets safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. We hope that improving safety will encourage more people to leave their cars at home and travel instead by bike or on foot.

“If we can reduce the number of vehicles on our roads then not only will our streets be quieter and safer but there should also be an improvement in local air quality levels.

“Ensuring that these lower speed limits are actively enforced is a vitally important part of this process. The combination of education, public awareness and enforcement is the key to achieving these goals.”

Further enforcement operations are planned across the borough in the coming weeks and months. The council is currently introducing 20mph limits in residential streets across Wandsworth apart from the busiest main roads and Transport for London-controlled Red Routes.

In a detailed public consultation earlier this year 59 per cent of those who responded supported a 20mph limit in quieter residential areas while 64 per cent agreed it should remain unchanged on main roads.

The cost of implementing the scheme is being met by a £725,000 grant received from Transport for London.

This will pay mainly for appropriate signage and road markings to inform drivers of the new limit. There are no plans for any additional speed humps or “sleeping policeman” anywhere in the borough.

Enforcement of the new limit will be carried out by the police, with the council working in support of their efforts, alongside community leaders, crime prevention panel members and neighbourhood watch co-ordinators. Any revenue generated by speed fines goes direct to HM Treasury not the town hall.

September 16, 2016