Road safety and considerate travel
20mph - Safer Roads
Safer Roads, Cleaner Neighbourhoods
Kingston is a place for people of all ages, who live, work, shop, study and play here. Kingston is a destination and not a place people pass through to get to somewhere else.
Working together, our vision is to create a fairer, greener, safer Kingston and our streets and neighbourhoods play a major role in this plan.
We want everyone to feel our streets are spaces where they can breathe clean air, walk safely and feel connected to the local community. We also want people to travel safely and efficiently, and also considerately.
20 mph in Kingston
Kingston Council has introduced safer 20mph speed limits to our residential roads. The lower speed limits support this vision, reducing the number of road casualties caused by speeding and making our roads easier to use and more attractive for our residents and those who choose to walk and cycle.
The new speed limits have been introduced through a phased roll out and approved by each of our neighbourhood committees and also statutory consultation to gather residents' views and feedback.
All roads in Kingston have now completed the process, with the exception of major routes under the control of Transport for London, such as the A3.
Active Travel and Public Transport
Our further aim is to make active travel and public transport the preferred options for residents, where possible. This approach will also support the council’s ambitions to become net zero by 2038.
With the support of Transport for London, Kingston has invested significantly in creating a widespread cycle network for safer travel and linking to neighbouring boroughs.
We also have a great public transport network consisting of buses and trains.
Oyster cards, travelcards and season tickets can make public transport much cheaper than commuting by car, especially if you have to pay for parking.
Discover more about our cycling network and the free support we offer to get adults and families cycling.
Get information about buses, trains and other options for public transport
Safer Speeds, Safer Roads, Safer People
Here are a few FACTS.
- In Kingston we have in the region of 170,000 people and 70,000 homes, 73,000 motor vehicles - most of which are cars (65,000 cars, 3,000 motorcycles, over 5,000 goods vehicles and 250 buses). (London Assembly - London Datastore)
- 1 in 4 people in Kingston are children or young adults in education.
- Collisions in Kingston - Our aim is to provide road conditions where we significantly reduce collisions. In the five years there have been 971 collisions in our borough, 5 fatal, 168 serious and 755 minor
- Safety is a core priority for the Royal Borough of Kingston, so safe travel and safe streets are paramount and a high priority.
- The stopping distance at 30mph is double that at 20mph
- 20mph is 12 metres (3 car lengths) and 30mph 23 metres (6 car lengths).
- Department of Transport figures for 2022 show that 50% of cars and vans, and 40% of HGVs exceed the speed limit in 30mph zones (95% exceeding the speed limit by up to 10mph).
- A person hit by a car at 30mph is 5 times more likely to be fatal than at 20mph.
- Future Transport research reports that fuel efficiency peaks at 20mph (30% saving) and this is due to the fewer times we need to brake and accelerate.
- In fact 20mph has shown to increase traffic flow and results in a comparatively small increase in journey times only outside busy times.