Local authority receives 300 requests to scrap 20mph limit on some roads
Anthony Lewis – Local democracy reporter
There have been more than 300 requests in one Welsh county borough to change the speed limits of local roads following the introduction of the Welsh Government’s 20mph default.
A total of 313 requests were made by residents and organisations in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) to change speed limits, according to a report for the council’s climate change, frontline services, and prosperity committee.
RCT had one of the highest rates of 30mph exceptions applied across Wales implementing 84 including 18 in the Rhondda, 16 in Cynon, and 50 in Taff, figures show.
Tim Phillips, RCT Council’s temporary head of traffic and transportation services, told the committee that, at this point in time, a large proportion of roads would stay at 20mph which is something that is also coming from other authorities who are more advanced in the process.
Exceptions
But he said it’s too early to tell how it would play out in RCT but he suspects they’re not going to see a huge change.
There are two main elements to deciding on exceptions to the 20mph default speed limit which include active travel opportunities and location in relation to things like schools, hospitals and residential areas.
In July 2022 the Welsh Government passed the Restricted Roads (20mph speed limit) (Wales) Order.
The committee heard from Mr Phillips that figures show there has been a 15% decrease in collisions on the network across Wales since the default limit was rolled out in September 2023.
Councils are responsible for the traffic regulation orders (TROs) for any exceptions and physical changes such as signs and lines.
Signs
The council has removed 3,140 signs, installed in excess of 2,000 new ones, and hundreds of gateways have either been removed or installed.
There will be a six-stage review process around the requests for speed limits to be changed.
These include a sift of requests, a review of requests, publishing the review of requests and starting the TRO process before a decision is finally made.
A petition of over 500,000 people was submitted to the Welsh Government in 2023 calling for the controversial 20mph policy to be scrapped.
Ministers later commissioned a review team to challenge how the 20mph was implemented and how exceptions have been applied by councils.
Revised guidance was then published in July last year.
The Welsh Government has committed to funding the cost of the scheme and a further bid for funding for 2025-26 of £405,000 has been submitted.
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300? How many drivers live in the catchment and how many of the 300 live there?
As of June 2019 there were 174,632 driving license holders in RCT. 313 is just 0.2% of drivers or 1 in 550.
So much for the vaunted petition.
Exactly, they want to drive faster outside other people’s properties
Bontddu: I see no reason for twenty mph, there is nothing there anymore…school’s gone, post office gone, petrol station gone, Halfway pub gone, Bontddu Hall / Bryn Tirion (once the country retreat of the Mayor of Birmingham) gone in the worst way possible, the dairy long gone, Jack and his gold mine long gone. All the old characters gone but the village hall continues…so hardly 20mph…
See how you can challenge a TRO to change a 20mph speed limit to 30mph at http://www.20splenty.org/w_faq11
Four people in England telling us what to do on roads in Wales.
My road they took the signs down, even though still 20 at one end of the village and the other, so a 20 mph road. Everyone back to doing 40+ again and up to 70 first thing in the morning. RCT are gutless and only play to the bad driver. Drivers have created this need to lower speeds after all. Bad and dangerous drivign is rife.
It shows you how the population of Wales can be easily led by those with an agenda. The 20 mph default speed limit has reduced deaths on our roads, but hey let’s ignore facts and replace with “fake news” because that fruit loop Andrew RT Davies told that you should be able travel faster in built-up areas so you can speed 9 mph more to the traffic lights and get first past that 78 year old Granny travelling in her disability scooter. Funny, if anything that slows you down vehicles on our roads are speed bumps or traffic calmers. Strange… Read more »
It’s also going to cost billions in lost outside investment in Wales, WG own figures, how many lives could that money save? Thousands more than the fictional number rolled out by the 20 is plenty goons.
Surely the obvious thing is to confine the 20 mph limit to roads where there’s a lot of pedestrian footfall, but leave urban roads where there’s very little of that at 30 mph. That seems to have been the criterion which our local authority has applied in our nearest town: one urban road which skirts the fringe of the town retains the 30 mph limit along most of its length, presumably because there’s only open country with no building at all on one side, and on the other the housing’s entirely confined to the small roads which lead off the… Read more »