Wales may go 20mph in residential areas

You may have seen in the news this week that plans to make 20mph speed limits the default in residential areas have received initial backing in the Welsh Senedd.

The full report from the Welsh Government can be found here as a pdf download, it's well worth a read and provides a deep evidence base of the benefits of reducing traffic speeds in residential areas.

Its summary is important;

"Enabling a much wider take up of 20mph limits is expected to achieve significant road safety benefits, particularly in deprived neighbourhoods. In the longer term, reductions 
in the perception of road danger is expected to lead to more walking and cycling which will improve public health and replace some short car journeys, and so achieving further reductions in collisions and casualties. More walking and cycling is also likely to lead to greater social cohesion which brings further societal and health benefits.

Lower speeds will lead to reductions in traffic noise, while impacts on air quality will be neutral at worst and journey time increases will be slight. Evidence shows that most people support 20mph limits although they may wrongly perceive themselves to be in a minority."