Freedom of Information request - A20 Sidcup Road 600 drivers fined for speeding in fake 50mph zone (01/2024)
Request ID: FOI-4204-2324 Date published: 09 May 2024
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
please provide:
1. a copy of the grounds for seeking the reduction in speed limit
2. a copy of the authorisation for the speed limit reduction
3. the number of occasions the speed limit has been reduced at the location since 01/01/2020
4. the cause of the flooding – understood to be the reason for the reduction
5. reports held about the weather conditions at the location from a week before the installation of the reduced speed limit, to a week after its removal.
Should ‘5’ be unmanageable:
6. reports held about the weather conditions at the location from a week before the installation of the false 50 mph sign to a week after its removal.
7. the contractor(s) responsible for the location
8. the litter/debris cleaning schedule
9. the past 12 months of cleaning attendance
Yours faithfully,
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-4204-2324 Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on14 February 2024 asking for information about the speed limit on the A20 Sidcup road. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. Specifically you asked: please provide: 1. a copy of the grounds for seeking the reduction in speed limit 2. a copy of the authorisation for the speed limit reduction A temporary 40mph speed limit has been introduced on the A20 Sidcup Road because of ongoing surface water flooding and water sheeting which has caused a number of safety concerns. This presents a serious risk to road users and the reduced speed limit will stay in place until permanent drainage measures can be installed. Please see the temporary order attached. The speed reduction has been implemented under this emergency order owing to the significant risk to the travelling public. 3. the number of occasions the speed limit has been reduced at the location since 01/01/2020 The speed limit has changed once since 2020 - with the existing 50mph and national speed limit temporarily reduced to 40mph in October 2023. Please see the notice attached. 4. the cause of the flooding – understood to be the reason for the reduction Flooding is caused by a combination of the topography of the Kent bound carriageway and silting of the drainage system in the central reserve. This results in excess surface water moving down the slope in this area and diverting from the central reserve towards the near side lane. 5. reports held about the weather conditions at the location from a week before the installation of the reduced speed limit, to a week after its removal. Should ‘5’ be unmanageable:
reports held about the weather conditions at the location from a week before the installation of the false 50 mph sign to a week after its removal.
We do not hold localised weather reports.
the contractor(s) responsible for the location
The contractor responsible for this location is FM Conway. 8. the litter/debris cleaning schedule 9. the past 12 months of cleaning attendance We do not hold this information as litter/debris cleaning is the responsibility of the local borough under their Environmental Protection Act 1990 duties. Please note that in accordance with TfL’s obligations under the Data Protection legislation some personal data has been removed from the attached documents, as required by Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations. This is because disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the legislation, specifically the first principle of the legislation, which requires all processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions of Schedule 2 which would make the processing ‘fair’. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed. Yours sincerely, Mary Abidakun FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
