Orders to ensure parts of A55 and other A-roads not hit by blanket …

Later this year Wales is set to become the first country in the UK to introduce a default 20mph limit on most 30mph roads. The default rule will come in from September. This will see thousands of miles of 30mph roads change to 20mph in a move that has divided opinion.

Welsh Government claim the new rules – which will cost GBP33m to implement – will save lives and money. But it has also faced a backlash from those concerned about the economic impact – as well the cost to local authorities to implement the changes amid a squeeze on public finances. The ‘default’ 20mph is for all restricted roads which are defined as “roads with a system of street lighting furnished with lamps not more than 200 yards apart”.

Most restricted roads are in built-up areas but not all – and the new rule would drag in parts of the A55. However road chiefs can create ‘exceptions’ where the limit will not apply. The alternative would be parts of the A55 [1] becoming 20mph zones by the autumn.

Councils in North Wales are yet to publish a list of the the roads – or sections – they want to remain at 30mph. But Welsh Government has revealed where it has orders in place to retain existing limits. For starters there is the A55.

People already complain about travelling on the busy expressway and a 20mph limit would certainly not help the traffic flow. There are two 30mph stretches on the A55 – which would become 20mph areas by default later this year. But Welsh ministers have issued exception orders.

The first is for the eastbound stretch of road that winds its way around the Penmaenbach headland. That will remain at 30mph under the exception order.

A55 at the Penmaenbach headland (Image: Welsh Government)

The second section is the A55 in both direction in Holyhead [3] – which will also stay at 30mph. These aren’t the only roads Welsh Government is keeping at 30mph with a raft of other orders in place.

The A55 at Holyhead (Image: Welsh Government)

These include part of A470 in Glan Conwy [4], as well as sections near Dolwyddelan and Blaenau.

There are also small sections of the A5 near Capel Curig and on the approach to Bethesda that will stay 30mph. The A494 also has short stretches that will stay 30mph – like the bends near Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd. More orders will come in once councils have finalised their lists of exceptions – with consultations over these ahead of any final decision.

As well as the GBP33m Welsh Government is providing extra money to GoSafe [5] to enforce the new limits with speed cameras. Welsh Conservatives said it meant even more taxpayers money was going on the “vanity project”. Meanwhile the debate over the new default limit will continue.

A recently released report from the Welsh Government said the speed limit will result in slower driving speeds yet have a minimal impact on journey times. It also claimed that the change will result in “a number of benefits including a reduction in road collisions and serious injury, more people walking and cycling and improvements to health and wellbeing”. But Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport Natasha Asghar MS said: “This will prove once again to be a waste of Welsh taxpayer’s money, with the government’s claim that it would make roads safer, already debunked by a study from Queen’s University Belfast and Edinburgh University, and the University of Cambridge which has found that reducing speed limits from 30mph to 20mph has had ‘little impact’ on road safety.

“As with every Labour [7] policy, the cost outlined is never the final figure.

The taxpayer’s money for this pet project would be better spent on public services that are in crucial need of extra funding, to support the public in more direct ways like reducing waiting times in our Welsh NHS [8].”

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References

^ A55 (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ Villagers plaster posters on their local pub in protest at its continuing closure (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ Holyhead (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ Conwy (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ providing extra money to GoSafe (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ More speed camera enforcement to police new 20mph default speed limit in Wales (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ Labour (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ NHS (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^ Sign up to our newsletter (www.dailypost.co.uk)