‘Half a dozen 20mph roads’ could be reviewed in Cardiff says council leader

“Half a dozen” 20mph roads in Cardiff could revert to their original speed limit, according to the Leader of Cardiff Council.

Speaking on S4C’s Y Byd yn ei Le, Huw Thomas said: “I can say that certainly in Cardiff’s case, there will be a review. This is a policy we’ve been introducing in Cardiff over a number of years. When the law came into place in September, only 24 streets in the city changed their speed limits.”

When asked whether any of these streets will change from a 20mph limit, Huw Thomas responded:

“Half a dozen, possibly.”

When asked what lead him to that number, Mr Thomas said it was a “sniff test.”

“I think it’s right we look and listen. But generally, the speed limits will stay as they are.”

Opposition

The 20mph limit in urban and residential areas came into force across Wales in September 2023, and has been met with opposition in the Senedd from the Welsh Conservatives and by a petition calling on the Welsh Government to remove the law has received nearly 500,000 signatures.

But Transport Secretary Ken Skates said in response to a debate tabled by the Conservatives in the Senedd on Wednesday that there will be a review into 20mph zones to ensure that they’re “targeted” in areas “where children and the elderly are at risk.”

Mae’n bosib bydd “hanner dwsin” o strydoedd 20mya yn cael eu hadolygu yng Nghaerdydd, yn ôl arweinydd y Cyngor @huwthomas_wales#ybydyneile | @s4c pic.twitter.com/kJhtawLkKF

— Y Byd yn ei Le (@ybydyneileS4C) April 18, 2024

“I think the change of emphasis shows how Vaughan Gething and Ken Skates want to be a government that listens, and that’s to be welcomed,” said Mr Thomas.

“I think the opposition has made a lot of fuss over this policy. But very simply, what the law does is enable local councils to have 20mph in place as a minimum.

“Here in Cardiff, over the last eight years of introducing 20mph in ward after ward after ward, it was a very long process to achieve that – and the new law says ‘That’s the minimum, if you want to increase the speed, you can do that’, and you have to go through a long process to increase the speed.

“That is what’s to be welcomed in what Ken Skates is suggesting now is that councils will have that power.