A councillor has accused police of being ‘less willing to enforce 20mph zones than they should be’ after one North London road saw 39 accidents over a three-year period. This means it is the most dangerous road in the area for collisions and has sparked calls for ‘urgent action’ to be taken to make the roughly half mile stretch of road safer.
Chamberlayne Road in Queen’s Park, Brent, dates back to the 1800’s and has now been described as a ‘danger zone’ by locals due to its inability to handle modern day traffic volumes. The 20mph road, which passes Kensal Rise Overground station and is used by multiple bus routes, has to withstand more than 11,500 double decker buses weekly and is used as a cut-through route for 90,000 vehicles monthly, according to an ongoing traffic study in the Queen’s Park area.
Brent Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Adult Social Care, and representative for Queen’s Park ward, Cllr Neil Nerva, called Chamberlayne Road ‘very odd’ as it is either ‘feast or famine’. Speaking at a recent Cabinet meeting (April 8), he said: “It’s either so congested it’s impossible for cars and buses to be going beyond 10 or 20mph, or it’s empty and there is speeding.”
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Cllr Nerva added: “What concerns me is that, for some time, it’s been known that there is speeding along here, especially during the quiet parts of the day – which are between peak hours or at night. Enforcement of 20mph is a police matter and it really is a sign of the times that the police are less willing to observe and enforce 20mph zones than they should be.”
The councillor said that if the police weren’t able to uphold ‘the law of the land’ then the council should work with residents on a ‘community road watch scheme’ to promote the management of 20mph zones, after there were 39 accidents on Chamberlayne Road alone between 2020 and 2022.
Brent Council has pledged to refresh road mappings and signage on the road to better highlight its 20mph limit. Cllr Nerva said: “It’s well known that when you have good signage it actually does start to make a difference in terms of behaviour.”
His intervention came in response to a petition signed by over 250 residents calling for ‘urgent action’ to address concerns over the road’s safety. But, whilst acknowledging the plans, members of the Kensal Rise Residents Association (KRRA) believe ‘more comprehensive measures’ are necessary to tackle the concerns.
Its chair, Fiona Mulaisho, told the Cabinet that Chamberlayne Road had become a ‘danger zone’ and described the accident statistics as ‘alarming’ when compared to other roads in the area. She said: “It is clear to residents that a dedicated study of Chamberlayne Road is needed.”
She added: “Measures that are targeted at reducing traffic volume and reckless driving are urgently needed. We have two schools on the border of Chamberlayne Road (Manor School and ARK Franklin Primary Academy) so it’s important that something is done.”
Council leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, assured Ms Mulaisho that the issues and concerns raised ‘will be taken on board’. He said: “We have looked at whether or not CCTV would be an option but at the moment the amount of funding that we have for [it] is quite limited and TfL ( Transport for London ) have control of how they manage and allocate resource. We can have further conversations with them and see how they can push forward some of the funding.”
With regards to speeding, Cllr Butt emphasised that it is the police who are ultimately the ones responsible for enforcement. He said: “I will make sure people who have responsibility for community safety liaise with the police to make sure enforcement does actually take place.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police did not respond directly to the claims of a lack of enforcement of 20mph zones but said: “The evidence tells us that speeding is a factor in a significant number of collisions in London, particularly those that result in death or serious injury. The Met, working with partners, will continue to undertake both prevention activity to keep road users safe, and enforcement action against drivers who fail to comply with the speed limit.”
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