National speed limit on residential roads cut from 30mph to 20mph

Legislation to lower the default national speed limit on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets from 30mph to 20mph in Wales has been approved by the Senedd.

Wales becomes the first UK nation to make the lower speed the default choice following trials in eight communities across Wales and will be rolled out nationally in September 2023.

The new legislation will not apply a blanket speed limit on all roads, it will simply make the default limit 20mph, leaving local authorities to engage with the local community to decide which roads should remain at 30mph.

Currently, just 2.5% of Welsh roads have a speed limit of 20mph, but from next year this is expected to increase to approximately 35%.

Speaking after the vote, minister for climate change, Julie James, said: “I am delighted that the move to 20mph has received cross-party support across the Welsh Parliament.

“The evidence is clear, decreasing speeds not only reduces accidents and saves lives, but helps improve people’s quality of life - making our streets and communities a safer and more welcoming place for cyclists and pedestrians, whilst helping reduce our environmental impact.

“We know this move won’t be easy – it’s as much about changing hearts and minds as it is about enforcement – but over time 20mph will become the norm, just like the restrictions we’ve introduced before on carrier bag charges and organ donation.”

In March 2020, TfL introduced a 20mph speed limit on all of its roads within the central London congestion charging zone as part of its Vision Zero commitment to eliminate death and serious injury on London’s roads.

This included a new 20mph limit on Victoria Embankment and along the Millbank.