Myself and my colleague Chris Tew have sent this joint letter into TCBC highlighting some of your concerns with regards to the Welsh Government 20mph scheme imposed on us.
Let’s hope they listen to the people in our community.
Dear
Cllr Tew and I would like all main roads in the County Borough put back to the original default speed limits.
Whilst the default speed limit of 20mph may have its merits, there are strong arguments for returning arterial roads back to a 30mph speed limit.
- Traffic Flow: Increasing the speed limit back to 30mph can promote a smoother flow of traffic. In some areas, a 20mph limit may be unnecessarily restrictive, leading to congestion and frustration among drivers. A slightly higher limit can help maintain a reasonable pace of travel, reducing the likelihood of tailbacks and improving overall traffic efficiency.
- Time Efficiency: A 30mph speed limit allows for faster travel, which can be advantageous for individuals who rely on efficient transportation to get to work, school, or other important commitments. While safety is paramount, finding a balance between safety and practicality is essential to ensure that people can reach their destinations in a timely manner.
- Driver Compliance: Setting a realistic speed limit that aligns with drivers’ expectations can lead to better compliance. If the majority of drivers find a 20mph limit excessively slow, there is a higher chance of non-compliance, which can undermine the effectiveness of speed regulations.
By returning to a 30mph limit, there is a greater likelihood that drivers will adhere to the speed limit, resulting in safer roads overall.
- Enforcement Challenges: Enforcing a 20mph speed limit can pose challenges for law enforcement agencies, as they may struggle to effectively monitor and enforce compliance. With limited resources, it may be more practical to focus enforcement efforts on more crucial traffic safety concerns, such as impaired driving or reckless behaviour, rather than spending significant resources on strict speed limit enforcement.
- Consistency: Returning to a 30mph speed limit provides consistency across different areas and road types. It can be confusing for drivers to navigate through a patchwork of different speed limits, especially if they frequently travel between zones with varying limits.
A consistent speed limit can help create a more intuitive and predictable driving experience.
- Public Transport: The 20mph scheme has made certain impacts on bus services. While it aims to improve safety and promote sustainable transportation, it potentially affects bus travel times and overall efficiency.
Slower speed limits may result in slightly longer journey durations, particularly in areas with heavy traffic congestion. The fact that some bus providers are already looking at reducing the number of stops in Wales as reported recently, should highlight that this is counter intuitive to supporting the ambition to travel via greener options.
For example, If a bus provider reduces the number of stops or services, it will force people to use their cars for more journeys.
Reduced services and stops will push people with disabilities from public transport to utilising taxis, again, counterintuitive to the “green message”.
While safety remains a priority, returning roads to a 30mph speed limit from the new default of 20mph can address concerns related to traffic flow, time efficiency, driver compliance, enforcement challenges, and consistency.
Striking a balance between safety and practicality is key to ensuring effective and efficient transportation for all road users.
Recently many like ourselves, have witnessed dangerous driving from overtaking to tailgating on main arterial roads in the Country Borough, Lee Waters MS himself, stated recently that Councils have the power to decide which roads should remain at 30.
We as elected members for Abersychan Ward, request that Council Officers put arterial roads linking our villages and town, back to previous limits, with researched exceptions as you enter a shopping section, near a School or Community building.
We would agree that side streets and estates be suitably left at 20mph zones as these won’t impact day to day commuting.
Regards,
Giles Davies 