Rethink on the 20 mile per hour limit for certain roads

A rethink on the 20 mile per hour limit could be considered on “several” roads in one part of Gwent following feedback from residents. 

The Welsh Government urged the public to contact local authorities last year on where they thought roads should revert to the 30mph limit following a backlash at its introduction of the default lower speed limit in September 2023. 

Road safety campaigners have hailed the policy, and statistics have shown a reduction in accidents and deaths since its introduction, but the “national listening programme” was launched following changes at the top of the Welsh Government early last year. 

Monmouthshire has said as a result of analysis of feedback from residents it has identified “several locations where a return to the 30mph speed limit may be appropriate”. 

A council spokesperson said: “These routes are currently being reassessed against the updated 30mph exception guidance, with a strong emphasis on maintaining road safety for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.” 

That guidance was updated by the Welsh Government in July last year and is intended to help local authorities decide where 20mph limits can increase to 30mph. Factors that have to be considered include whether roads are within 100 metres of educational establishments, including nurseries and higher or further education sites, community facilities, medical centres including GP surgeries, and the amount of residential or retail properties fronting a road. 

Main or “strategic” roads outside city, town and village centres or high streets, with few houses and where homes or shops are only on one side of the street, with no need for pedestrians to cross, are cited in the guidance as where a 30mph limit “could” be used. 

On “strategic routes” used by freight and buses the guidance says 30mph could be restored if there is evidence journey times have “increased significantly” since the 20mph limit was introduced. 

Demand and use of roads by cyclists will also have to be considered. 

Monmouthshire has also said its approach to the review has been informed by the county having been part of the 20mph pilot, with the lower limit trialled in Abergavenny and the Severnside area. 

As a result of that pilot the 30 mph limit was restored in parts of Caldicot in early 2023 where there had been a number of objections to the lower limit that had been trialed since April, 2022.   

A section of the B4245 between Woodstock Way and the Castlegate roundabout reverted to the 30 mph limit as well as a section of Caldicot Road between the Castlegate roundabout and the bridge over the former railway line to Portskewett.  

Monmouthshire has said it is due to publish the results of the review in February and if any changes are proposed it will have to go through the legal process of producing a new traffic order, which will be subject to a formal consultation where people will be able to give their opinion on the proposal. 

Latest figures from the Welsh Government show there were around 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on roads with 20mph and 30mph road speed limits in the 12 month period after the introduction of the 20mph default speed limit, compared to the same period a year before.