Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Speed

Seattle City Council Approves 20 MPH Speed Limit on Residential Streets

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 27, 2016 | 5 Comments

20 is plenty for Seattle. The City Council voted unanimously yesterday to lower speed limits on residential streets to 20 miles per hour. On all other streets, the default speed limit will be 25 mph, though speed limits may vary on major roadways. The change is part of the city’s Vision Zero effort, aimed at eliminating […]

Seattle Moves to Lower Neighborhood Speed Limits to 20 MPH

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 14, 2016 | 10 Comments

Seattle is getting serious about reducing the threat of lethal motor vehicle speeds. The city is moving to lower speed limits on neighborhood streets from 25 mph to 20 mph later this year. On big arterial streets, the city will determine speed limits on a case-by-case basis, but the default will be reduced from 35 mph to […]

Portland Wants to Rethink Speed Limits By Factoring in Walkers and Bikers

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 25, 2016 | 29 Comments

For cities trying to get a handle on traffic fatalities, dangerous motor vehicle speeds are an enormous problem. Once drivers exceed 20 mph, the chances that someone outside the vehicle will survive a collision plummet. But even on city streets where many people walk and bike, streets with 35 or 40 mph traffic are common. Cities looking […]

3 Graphs That Explain Why 20 MPH Should Be the Limit on City Streets

By Angie Schmitt | May 31, 2016 | 22 Comments

Speed kills, especially on city streets teeming with pedestrians and cyclists. The investigative news nonprofit ProPublica has produced an interactive graph that deftly conveys how just a few miles per hour can spell the difference between life and death when a person is struck by a motorist. ProPublica’s Lena Groeger used data from the AAA Safety Foundation to chart the plummeting […]

Boston Wants to Lower Its Speed Limit to 20 MPH — But Can’t

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 29, 2016 | 10 Comments

Twenty is plenty in Boston, according to its elected officials. The City Council voted unanimously this week to lower the default speed limit on most residential streets to 20 mph — and not for the first time. Speeding is the number one complaint council members hear from residents. And on Boston’s narrow streets, packed with pedestrians, […]

20’s Plenty: The Movement for Safer Speeds in the UK

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. | Sep 22, 2015 | No Comments

Five years ago, Streetfilms was in the UK town of Warrington to talk with the great folks behind 20’s Plenty For Us, a largely volunteer group trying to get speed limits reduced to 20 mph. The first film drew broad interest in the 20’s Plenty movement, and on a recent trip I caught up with them again. Founder Rod King MBE […]

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