Leeds: 'Down to all of us' to eliminate road deaths by 2040

A recent survey found less than 20% of people felt safe while using Leeds' road network, with pedestrians and cyclists feeling most vulnerable

Significant culture change is required if Leeds is to eliminate all road deaths by 2040, local councillors have been told.

The city council formally adopted the ambition for Leeds' roads at a recent meeting, with the public asked to do their part to help hit the target.

A recent public survey of more than 900 people found less than 20% felt safe while using the city's road network.

Pedestrians and cyclists were more likely to feel unsafe than drivers.

Between 2016 and 2020, crashes on roads in Leeds killed 83 people and seriously injured 1,498, with most of those killed travelling on foot, on a bike or riding a motorbike.

Adopting the 2040 ambition means more cash is likely to be invested in traffic calming measures and enforcing speed limits over the coming years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Speaking at a meeting of the council's executive board, Gary Bartlett, the authority's chief officer for highways, said it was "down to all of us" for the goal to be achieved.

'It requires everybody'

"Some of it will be physical infrastructure, some of it will be enforcement, some of it will be be persuasion, education and training," he said.

"It requires everybody, not just the highways department to do it, otherwise we'll fail, because we can't do this on our own."

Councillor Andrew Carter, leader of the Conservative group on the city council, claimed the Labour-led local authority had been too slow to take action on a number of dangerous roads.

"If this is to work, then when things are drawn to the council's attention which need dealing with, then somehow, when it comes to a matter of life and death, they have to be prioritised," he said.

"I regret to say over a number of years, they haven't been."

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