Sidcup bypass speed limits need to be investigated

The London Assembly has called on the Mayor of London to launch an independent investigation into temporary speed limits put in place on the A20 at the Sidcup bypass between October 2023 and October 2024.

In a motion agreed today, the Assembly noted campaign groups’ concerns that:

• Signage was insufficient and followed the wrong chapter of the signage manual
• The signage installed was potentially hazardous with the top of the mounting post not fully covered by the sign
• There are allegations that the traffic order (0622) was not published on the Transport for London (TfL) website or in compliance with statutory instruments

Thomas Turrell AM, who proposed the motion, said:

“There are serious questions to be raised about whether TfL have followed due procedure, and for that reason they cannot be allowed to mark their own homework in investigating what has happened.

“The Assembly has spoken clearly: the Mayor should call an independent investigation, so that we might learn lessons from this and avoid the mistakes made with the A20.

“This has affected drivers who say that they couldn’t possibly have known they were breaking the rules, and we owe it to them to thoroughly investigate this issue.”

The full text of the motion is:

This Assembly calls on the Mayor of London to launch an independent investigation into the implementation of the temporary speed limits on the A20 at the Sidcup by-pass, which were in place between October 2023 and October 2024.

This Assembly notes the concerns raised by campaign groups which include:

• Allegations that the traffic order (0622) was not published on the Transport for London (TfL) website or in compliance with statutory instruments, and that the Officer named on the order does not appear on the Audit record, and concerns at the possibility that the wrong Officer signed off on the order altogether.
• Signage being insufficient and following the wrong chapter of the signage manual.
• Concerns that the signage installed was potentially hazardous with the top of the mounting post not fully covered by the sign.

This Assembly believes that TfL cannot be allowed to mark their own homework on this issue and therefore calls on the Mayor to launch an independent investigation into these concerns so that lessons can be learnt and the mistakes seen with the A20 are not repeated.

The meeting can be viewed via webcast or YouTube.

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