NEW 20mph zones could be piloted in a bid to reduce traffic speeds, cut pollution, and keep pedestrians safe.

Speed limits could be reduced to 20mph in some Wallingford streets in the hope it will stop drivers from speeding.

The ‘20s Plenty’ plan has the backing of Green county councillor Dr Pete Sudbury who last month was successful in winning all-Party support for a motion to reduce traffic speeds in the county.

Dr Sudbury said: “If you have a 30mph limit you actually have slightly over 50 per cent of people exceeding 30, and if you go to a 20mph limit you have slightly over 50 percent under the speed of 25. If you are driving at 25 you are a quarter as lethal than if you hit someone at 35.”

The county councillor became passionate about reducing speed limits after his daughter was almost hit by a car.

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He said: “I live in Woodcot and when my daughter was three, we were going towards the main road and she suddenly bolted towards the road for no particular reason. My wife grabbed her hoodie before she would have run straight in front of a car, which was going too fast. If she had been killed that would have been a reason to put in a 20-mph limit and you should not have to wait for that.”

The councillor started to write a motion and reached out to Conservative Charles Matthew as he did not want it to seem like a political ploy. Mr Matthew said he had tried several times before to get a 20mph limit but had failed. Together they put in a motion that 20mph should become the default limit.

Wallingford Town Councillor Marcus Harris hopes the proposed 20mph speed limit will prevent people using Wallingford to access Didcot without using the bypass.

He said: “We do not want Wallingford to become a cut through to Didcot. Didcot is becoming this powerhouse of a garden town; we do not want to become a shortcut for traffic.”

Residents of Wallingford are also in favour of the speed limit change.

Dr Sudbury said he spent a Saturday between lockdowns asking members of the public in the town if they would be for a 20mph speed limit and the majority of people were in support.

The county councillor wants the first steps not just to be a 20mph limit but also a width filter to stop lorries and large vans coming through the residential area.

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