New speed limits
In 2020 ELC introduced temporary reduced speed limits using Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) to encourage and enable more active travel during the Covid restrictions when opportunities to travel were restricted.
Initally, the areas selected for 20mph were areas of high population and busy town centres where lots of people congregate. The roads selected for 40mph were those roads where we felt that people may choose to cycle to school rather than taking a school bus during the Covid restrictions. Some new 40mph and 30mph limits were introduced at town boundaries as 'buffer zones' where otherwise it was felt that the change from the national speed limit (60mph) to 20mph would be too abrupt.
As soon as the signs started to go up, requests started coming in for other areas, to which we extended the schemes if reasonable and practical. Although additional requests continued to come forward, we were unable to respond to these after the funding for the inital Spaces for People project came to an end in May 2021. However, these requests were taken into account during the wider Speed Limit Review which took place in autumn/winter 2021.
In March 2022 Councillors made the decision to start the legal process to make lower speed limits permanent. There have been some changes in response to feedback, and the final maps can be downloaded at the link below.
Download maps showing the new speed limit
Data collection
Traffic speed and volume surveys were carried out before and after the implementation of the new speed limits to assess their overall effectiveness. Initial data showed that vehicle speeds decreased in two thirds of locations surveyed, and that where previously only 75% of traffic was travelling at an average speed less than 30mph, after the new limits were in place, 85% of traffic was doing so. In areas where adherence to the new limits was not ideal, specific measures such as more prominent signage and on-street markings have been recommended to improve compliance.
We are also installing permanent monitoring equipment at our Spaces for People sites, to track how they are being used currently and how this evolves. This will inform decision-making for years to come.
Consultation
The legal process for implementing permanent changes to speed limits is lengthy and requires formal consultation with emergency services, bus operators, road haulage and community councils. Additionally, we sought feedback from communities in three main ways:
1. Through the Residents Survey. This is a regular postal survey undertaken by an independent research organisation on behalf of the Council's Policy, Improvement & Partnerships Team. We added questions on the new speed limits to be collated alongside the other data, and weighted to give a representative sample of households according to age and geography. . We recieved over 3000 responses to this survey.
2. Through an online survey which was open for 6 weeks to 26 November 2021. We got 1152 responses to this survey, which was not monitored to guard against multiple submissions etc. However, it gave everyone with access to the internet the opportunity to come forward with suggestions
2. Through an online survey for young people which was open for 4 weeks to 26 November 2021. We got 125 responses to this survey, which was not monitored to guard against multiple submissions etc. However, it allowed us to balance the views expressed by young people against the general population
3. Through Community Councils. Community Councils were encouraged to determine the views of their community and respond on their behalf. We received 11 formal representations from community councils.
Review of speed limit policy
We have also reviewed our policy and procedures for processing future requests for speed limit changes. We recognise that many communities have wider ambitions for reduced speed limits in their areas, and in all cases we will seek to implement a consistent approach.