Major sections of roads across Wales could see 30mph speed limits return after reviews from local authorities begin to launch.
The process follows an announcement by Transport Minister Ken Skates who revealed in July that there would be a review into whether some roads could see 20mph speed limits axed.
The review gave power to local councils who will be able to bring back 30mph limits if necessary and in the public interest.
Councils have now started to review which specific roads should have higher speed limits with Flintshire Council being the first to publish which roads would be changing last month.
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Wales has given powers to local authorities to review 20mph roads
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A similar move has been made in Wrexham which also published a list of roads it will be reviewing. In Rhondda Cynon Taf, the council received 313 requests for reviews of roads in the area. However, major A-roads and motorways remain under the jurisdiction of the Welsh Government.
Earlier this week, Skates told the Senedd it would review 111 sections of the country’s road network to see whether higher speeds would be acceptable
Skates told the Climate Committee: “The review of trunk road speed limits will require gathering significant data as evidence to support consistent decision making, along with input from the relevant local authorities.
“The current programme is we will conclude this review work in May 2025 – at this point we will understand any changes to the 20mph and 30mph on the ground on the trunk road network,” Wales Online reported.
But he did note that there would most likely not be any official changes to the road structures until mid-2026.
Skates also explained that buffer speed limits are being reviewed to be put in place to help narrow the drastic speed changes in some areas which will go from 20mph to the national speed limit.
He noted that the A5 in Wales has a section which sees speed limits dramatically drop from the national limit of 60mph to 20mph, prompting the need for buffer zones.
Last month, the Petitions Committee discussed a motion which had received more than 4,000 signatures, which called for a nationwide public poll to establish the true level of public support for the 20mph limit.
The petition read: “The public now has no faith in these claims and in the interest of credibility the truth needs to be established.
“There has to be complete openness and honesty in the level of support this 20mph limit really has and this can only be achieved by giving all the people of Wales the opportunity to voice their opinions.”
In response, Skates wrote to the committee that the primary goal of the 20mph default policy is to save lives and reduce casualties on roads.
He added: “There is no evidence to support the petitioner’s assertion that a majority of the population is against the default 20mph speed limit.”
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20mph speed limit roads are being considered to return back to 30mph
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“Previous petitions have not achieved anything like majority support. However, we cannot escape the fact that 20mph has served to polarise some of the people and communities we serve. Against that backdrop, I felt we should take a step back and listen to the views of everyone involved.”
