There are a number of reasons for setting a default speed of 20mph throughout the 'unclassified' road network in residential parts of a city such as Norwich. Most important perhaps is that of driver recognition as to what the speed limit is. If you have 20 mph as the default then you not only establish this limit clearly, but you also adjust the driver's recognition as to what is the "normal" speed in such residential areas. The most important aspect is that drivers set 20 mph as the norm with those 30 mph areas or roads being seen as 50% faster, rather than seeing 30 mph as the norm with 20 mph as 33% slower. The psychological adjustment of normal speeds in residential areas is key to the success of reducing speeds and therefore danger to pedestrians and cyclists. Therefore any trial, pilot or whatever, that only implements 20 mph in a tiny proportion of the city is not modelling 20's Plenty in any realistic manner. When considering the val...
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Your description of the ideal world appeals to me.
I remember, a few decades ago (I have forgotten when) there was a TV drama about a post-industrial society where people returned to simple lives and had even given up road travel so much there was grass growing in their roads! (Now, there's a thought concerning the A11!) Since seeing that programme (I have forgotten what it was called or who was in it) I have been wishing that we could live simpler, less materialistic lives. As an adult I haven't really bothered much about accumulating possessions (even if my small house appears rather cluttered!) - so long as one has somewhere to live, food to eat, clothes to wear plus a few of the things which make lives a bit more interesting - like this five year old computer!).
I have to confess to one extravagance and that is my 16 year old Vauxhall Nova - which has become part of my life during the 12 years I have had it - we cannot be good all the while! (Although I only drive it when I really need to).
I hope that one day we can see the end of corporate greed which causes such misery in this world - not only in those who have lost their jobs as a result of this - but also in those who are still in their stressful, overworked, jobs purely as a result of the people at the top raking in even more profits - causing higher bills for less service to customers.
I am really looking forward to the possibility of living ecologically :0)