I would like to tackle some of the inaccuracies that have crept up around the proposals for an extension of the 20mph speed limit in Brighton and Hove.

Firstly, we are not proposing to make every road a 20mph limit; there is no blanket approach or “blanket ban”.

The consultation makes very clear that the proposals do not include most major roads and the more significant or arterial routes beyond the phase one central area are proposed to remain at their current speed, including the A259 seafront road, Old Shoreham Road, New Church Road, Ditchling Road, London Road and Lewes Road.

There is incontrovertible evidence that 20mph speed limits produce safer streets by bringing down the number and severity of crashes and casualties. This evidence is available from the Department for Transport and The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and has been quoted in our consultation.

Last year 160 people, 89 of them pedestrians or cyclists, were killed or seriously injured on the city’s roads. This is unacceptable.

We want safer roads for Brighton and Hove; we want fewer crashes; we want our streets to be safer and more pleasant to use. And, yes, this should encourage more people to walk and cycle, especially for local trips, which will also improve health and wellbeing.

The consultation is ongoing and there are public exhibitions across the city which are packed with information about the proposals.

I would encourage everyone to check this out and respond – we want to hear your views. You can find more information here: www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/20mph.

Councillor Pete West, Green, chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, Brighton and Hove City Council

The Unchain The Brighton Motorist group is rather misleading when it talks about a blanket 20mph extension across the city and that it is a declaration of war on the motorist.

The group says it supports some 20mph zones around schools, hospitals and narrow residential streets but not on key arterial roads.

Firstly, the 20mph extension will not apply to all roads – it is not a blanket extension – and many arterial roads will remain at 30mph, which is just what it wants.

There may be other roads it would like to see left at 30mph but that hardly warrants this overreaction.

Secondly, why only have 20mph zones around schools and hospitals and some residential streets? Children actually spend more time out of school than in it. Many children go to nurseries, spend a lot of time in and around parks and often frequent local shopping areas. So what about these areas?

Thirdly, older people can find it harder to judge speeds and distances and can benefit from slower speeds. They don’t always live on narrow residential streets.

Overall, the 20mph extension is good for many reasons but there is a case for examining some roads that are important bus and taxi routes and should perhaps be excluded.

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We need a city fit for people, not just cars.

Chris Todd, Brighton & Hove Friends of the Earth

I was intrigued by Councillor Ian Davey’s letter to your pages on September 17.

His closing paragraph, referring to the first advertisement by the Unchain The BrightonMotorist group, says the council is assessing evidence of Portsmouth’s experience with 20mph speed restrictions when considering the Brighton and Hove phase one implementation.

If this is true, why did Coun Davey say on BBC local radio (in April, I believe) that the “experience of Portsmouth is very recent”?

He adds that “it’s only been in the last couple of years and so time is needed to accrue more robust data.” This implies the statistics were invalid.

The Department for Transport, in its final report (The Atkins Report, September 2010) of the evaluation of the Portsmouth 20mph limit with two years’ data, stated that accidents with casualties classed as “Killed and Seriously Injured” actually increased following the introduction of the 20mph limit. Within this increase, pedestrian casualties were 38% higher than the average of the three years prior to the new speed limit. This is in table 5.3 of that report.

So, Coun Davey, how were you being clear about 20mph?

Leslie Paine, Honeysuckle Lane, Crawley