In a motion tabled at today’s (11th December 2012) meeting of the County Council, the Lib Dem Group called for a change to a Council-wide policy which would make it easier to implement 20mph zones across Surrey’s already heavily-congested roads, despite the potential for considerably greater traffic issues this would create, and the impact it would have on Surrey residents and businesses. They also called for ‘terminal and repeater signs’ to help aid enforcement, going completely against a general move away from ‘street furniture’ such as street signs, speed warnings and advertising hoardings which clutter up our pavements.

John Furey, Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport, said that Conservative Councillors had done their utmost to prevent a blanket 20mph speed limit policy as it would ‘inevitably lead to heavy congestion’ in some rural as well as urban areas.

John added ‘I’m glad that the Conservative Group unanimously defeated this attempt to alter the cross-Surrey policy on speed limits, and I’m sure our residents and businesses are too. If local people feel there is a need to look closer at a particular speed limit, then, in line with the localism agenda, they can raise it at their local committee. It is not, and should not be for councillors from elsewhere in the County to dictate a one-size-fits-all policy for every mile of Surrey’s roads.’