Speed limits are being lowered from 30mph to 20mph in towns across the UK, and this limit will apply in newly developed areas, too...
Local authorities and devolved governments are reducing the speed limit on large swathes of urban roads from 30mph to 20mph.
Nearly half of London’s roads already have a 20mph limit, including all those inside the Congestion Charging zone, and Transport for London (TfL) is expanding the 20mph limit to five more London boroughs from March 2023.
From September 2023, 20mph will become the default speed limit across all urban roads in Wales (approximately 35% of its roads). And Scotland has pledged to lower the speed limit on all “appropriate roads in urban areas” to 20mph by 2025. Borders was the first region to introduce the new limit on 16 January 2023.
There has also been updated Government guidance on road design in newly built residential areas, with an assumption that a blanket speed limit of 20mph instead of 30mph will apply.
That has led to speculation that 20mph will become the default speed limit on all urban roads in the UK, but a Department for Transport spokesperson said: “There are no plans to introduce default or national 20mph speed limits in urban environments. It is for local authorities to consider setting 20mph speed limits on streets where people and traffic mix.”
The news of the lower speed limit in new housing developments has been welcomed by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) road safety organisation.
Neil Greig, the IAM’s director of policy and research, said: “We have always said that we need to refashion our roads so that they are obviously shared spaces where drivers can expect to encounter cyclists and pedestrians.
“When drivers have those obvious visual clues, they will drive appropriately and everyone will feel safer and more likely to engage in active travel.”
The IAM has concerns about the retrofitting of 20mph zones on to existing roads without changing the look and feel of them, though.
“Simply putting up 20mph speed limit signs at the entrance to vast swathes of a city has been shown to have a limited effect,” said Greig. “The latest government speed compliance figures show that more than 80% of vehicles in 20mph zones break the speed limit.
“Changing our towns and cities will take time and investment and short cuts such as area-wide 20mph speed limits risk losing support from drivers and residents alike.”
The rollout of 20mph zones is taking place alongside the introduction of low emission zones in many towns and cities around the UK in a bid to reduce urban pollution.
London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone will be expanded to cover the entire Greater London area from 29 August 2023. Drivers of older vehicles (petrol vehicles that don’t meet Euro 4 emissions standards and diesels that don’t meet Euro 6) will have to pay fees. There are six Clean Air Zones in operation across the UK, with another six being planned.
Keyword: 20mph could become the default urban speed limit