New 20mph speed limits set to be returned to 30 in parts of Welsh town
Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter
The reversal of 20 mile per hour speed limits trialled in some parts of Monmouthshire are to be confirmed by the county council.
The Welsh Government passed a new law, this summer, making the lower speed the ‘default limit’ for most residential roads in Wales from September next year.
But in response to the Welsh Government clarifying its rules around speed limits Monmouthshire County Council, in July, said it would restore the old 30 mph limit in Caldicot where there had been a number of objections to the lower limit that had been trialled since April.
Residents had a chance to make further comments on the reversal throughout August and a report for the cabinet member for highways, Catrin Maby, is now recommending the council press ahead with reintroducing the 30mph limit.
It will see a section of the B4245 between Woodstock Way and the Castlegate roundabout revert to the 30mph limit as well as a section of Caldicot Road between the Castlegate roundabout and the bridge over the former railway line to Portskewett.
However, on the B4245 there will be a part-time 20mph limit outside Durand Primary School at school start and finish times, with the exact times to be agreed with the headteacher.
The Welsh Government’s project officer for the 20mph limit gave its backing to the council’s decision as it based on the advice it issued around local highway authorities making exceptions to the new, lower limit based on the layout of local roads and their use.
The council will also confirm the 30mph “buffer” on the B4293 heading north out of Devauden, where there is a 20mph limit, will also be extended to include a bus stop used by the school bus. No objections or comments were received in response to the proposal.
£243,790
The 20mph pilot in Monmouthshire’s Severnside cost £243,790, which was funded by the Welsh Government, while the introduction of the restored higher speed limits is expected to cost around £10,000 which the council will meet from its highways budget.
The changes are due to be confirmed in a decision by Cllr Maby to be issued on Wednesday, November 30.
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Good, people who drive the roads regularly should decide the speed limit not someone who can’t find the place on the map.
Most of that road has people’s back gardens facing it so less chance of people walking along that road anyway.
Lastly why did the government pick that road? I checked the internet and found a site with road death records going back 10 pr 20 years and there weren’t any on the main road in caldicot. Why not test it on a dangerous road?
“people who drive the roads egularly should decide the speed limit” – even if they live miles away? What about the people who live along the road, cyclists who use the road, children who walk to school at the side of the road, pedestrians who walk on the pavement at the side of the road or perhaps on the road where there is no pavement?
The government did not pick that road, the council did. The council trialled the 20 mph limit in several places and has ended that trial by reverting to 30 in some areas but retaining 20 in others.
It may be me but that is pretty obvious to those without rampant kneejerks from the first sentence of the article.
Expert road planners with 80 years of data, professional competence and the wellbeing of ALL road users in mind, should choose the speed limit of roads. Not lead booted NIMBYs who like to drive fast.
I’m confused, the Welsh Conservatives have been raging for months against a “blanket” 20mph limit in Wales, but this article indicates clearly that there is actually no “blanket” speed limit.
This 20mph madness needs to stop. Everyone should drive to the conditions of the road based upon hazards. Enough of this Marxist Mark Drakeford garbage! All this Social control needs to STOP!