Edinburgh residents will be asked to give their views on plans to reduce speed limits on 30mph roads to 20 mph — although a study showing the last expansion of the scheme resulted in an average reduction of less than two miles an hour.
The council is to conduct a £30,000 consultation on the proposals which will consider “all roads that are 30,” according to the Transport Convener.
Cllr Scott Arthur added that residents will have the opportunity to “nominate streets in their ward that are currently 30 in the anticipation that they’ll be considered for reduction to 20”.
It comes as it was revealed the last major roll-out of 20mph zones resulted in the average speed falling by just 1.85mph over three years, with drivers on average still exceeding the speed limit.
Throughout 2022 Edinburgh City Council has worked to introduce 20mph restrictions on 16 streets including Cluny Gardens, West Mains Road, Charterhall Road and sections of Craighall Road and Granton Road.
A report to this week’s transport committee said the upcoming consultation will look at “streets with medium to high density housing fronting the street” and which are “likely to generate moderate levels of pedestrian activity and crossing”.
This could include Ferry Road east of Arboretum Road, Lindsay Road, sections of Corstorphine Road/St Johns Road, London Road from Leith Walk to Jock’s Lodge, Craigmillar Park, Colinton Road east of Craiglockhart Sports Centre and parts of Lanark Road West.
In addition it will consider streets next to shops or shopping centres such as Murrayburn Road passing Wester Hailes Plaza, Lady Road passing Cameron Toll shopping centre and London Road at Abbeyhill, and streets with “a significant role for walking and/or cycling or which are likely to generate raised levels of walking and/or cycling for other reasons”.
The report added: “Streets for which it is recommended that a 30mph limit be retained are generally wider, outer suburban roads with a relatively low density housing (e.g. bungalows), likely to generate lower levels of pedestrian activity and which are important bus routes or form part of the alternative route to the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass.”
Findings from a study into the effectiveness of restrictions on roads added to the 20mph network between 2016 and 2019 were also set out in the report.
When speed monitoring was carried out at 65 locations, it was found the overall average speed fell from 23.77mph in 2016 to 21.92mph in 2021, an average reduction of 1.85 mph.
“The largest average speed reduction recorded in a single street was from 28.11mph in 2016 to 17.7mph in 2021 (a reduction of 10.41mph), observed in South Edinburgh. This reduction coincides with changes to the road layout that were introduced on this street as part of the Council’s Spaces for People programme,” the report stated.
“Although the reductions in speeds observed across the road network may appear relatively small, every collision avoided is a positive achievement. Research suggests that if average speeds reduce by 1mph, the collision rate should fall by approximately 5 per cent.”
Lib Dem councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie said: “It’s less than two miles per hour on average across the network. The average speed is still above the speed limit.
“And the report is clear that where you saw the biggest reduction in speed is where we have additional physical measures in place.
“It’s also important to recognise that with the removal of the council’s funding for community policing we have seen a reduction in capacity for speed enforcement.
“Residents quite rightly expect there to be consequences for those people who speed – because at the moment people feel they can pretty much drive however fast they like and never get caught.”
by Donald Turvill Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
