By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Motorists have complained their cars and bikes are stalling after a Labour-run council introduced a 10mph speed limit on one of its roads.
Islington Council in London has painted the restriction on St John Street, just north of Smithfield Market.
The Labour-run authority said the limit will only apply while roadworks, which are expected to last for six months, are in place.
But motorists have been left outraged by the move and said the new limit is impossible to stick to because it will mean vehicles are constantly stalling.
Local resident Phil Cudlipp, 68, says he already struggles to ride his Harley-Davidson at 20mph, let alone 10mph.
He said: 'I walk everywhere now - there's nowhere to park my bike nine times out of ten.
'With all these restrictions, it's just not a viable option. If I was going long distance it'd be fine.
'If it was 30 in the past, why isn't it still the same? It don't add up to me.
Islington Council in London has painted the new 10mph restriction on St John Street, just north of Smithfield Market
Local resident Phil Cudlipp, 68, says he already struggles to ride his Harley-Davidson at 20mph, let alone 10mph
'At 10 mph, straight away people are going to be going slower, so they're going to pile up behind each other.
'At traffic lights there'll be a lot more people sitting there and that means there's a lot more cars ticking over going nowhere.'
Jay, 56, said: 'It's a joke, it's ridiculous. In London, speed limits are a liberty.
'Twenty miles an hour, they're blocking off all the roads, you just can't get around.'
Vicky Cox, 47, agreed that the new speed limit is 'excessive' and raised concerns about the rate of emissions in the area.
She said: '10 miles is a bit excessive, given 20 is slow enough, right?
'I don't think it's very well advertised, because most people will be going 20 and still think 20. I think it's b****y well low.
'I get that they go on about emissions, but surely the slower cars go the more emissions they are kicking up.'
Friends Laura Keller, 60, and Cat Turlier, 54, were divided on the 10mph limit, which is expected to last for around six months
Locals raised concerns about how the limit will be enforced, especially when it comes to cyclists
St John Street - which usually has a 20mph limit - runs from Angel tube station to Smithfield Market.
Despite the limit being temporary and only applying to a small section of the road, council bosses have paid for the 10mph signs to be painted onto its surface.
Roadworks in the area are ongoing to improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists.
Among the changes being made is the introduction of a new southbound cycle lane.
Friends Laura Keller, 60, and Cat Turlier, 54, were divided on the 10mph limit.
Foster carer Ms Keller said: 'I love it, I drive in a lot of 20mph zones. Even though it's a big adjustment, I think it makes sense, but yeah - 10 miles, bring it on.'
But Ms Turlier said: 'You could cycle faster [than 10mph], I could run it faster. It's going to be hard to enforce.
'I would just like to hope it would actually be applied to cyclists. You see cyclists going through red lights, cyclists ignoring everything.
'If you're going to apply it, it needs to apply to cyclists.'
Kayk Panch, who runs nearby Bhavini's Newsagent & Off Licence, said the roadworks and new limit were causing his sales to drop.
Data engineer Matt Simmons, 30, said the new slower limit could make the area safer for pedestrians
He said: 'Normally we get builders and cab drivers stopping here. At the moment we're struggling, we're losing the parking, losing the business at the moment.
'This is going to go for six to seven months, we're around 25 percent down at the moment.
'Less people are coming because this road is blocked. It's going to be continuing for six months, but business will go down.'
But data engineer Matt Simmons, 30, said: 'I like the idea, I think this is already a very pedestrianised area.
'There's tonnes of cyclists in this area, people delivering stuff and manoeuvring all over, so I think it might make it a bit safer.'
Islington Council said the 10mph speed limit is only temporary while construction workers install a new cycle track, rain gardens, trees, and planting to the road.
The new speed limit follows the publication of a report from the Road Safety Foundation earlier this year recommending that the speed limit on some roads be cut to 10mph.
The charity proposed the lower speed limit on streets with a prevalence of pedestrians, such as outside schools or hospitals.
The report, released in May, also recommended that speeds on single carriageways and country roads across the country be cut to 20mph.
The suggestions evoked backlash from the public and drivers' associations, with some branding them 'ridiculous'.
Hugh Bladon, from the Alliance of British Drivers, called the proposals 'laughable' and claimed the RSF 'is clearly not fit for purpose'.
'If you ban all motorised transport you might reduce deaths and injury a bit, but we should remember that more people were being killed and injured, in the days before motorised transport, by horses and their carriages.
'It might be better to ban people from walking or cycling where there is any form of motorised transport,' he said.
