A major authority has revealed it plans to turn four busy roads in a popular city back to 30mph from 20mph after hearing outcries from drivers.
The changes were announced by Cardiff City Council and hope to ease congestion and traffic on main routes in and out of the city.
The decision follows a review of the Welsh Government’s controversial 20mph policy, which was introduced in September 2023.
But now the council said it has listened to views from residents, businesses and transport companies before making its decision.
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Cardiff will turn four major roads back to 30mph
PA
The affected routes include sections of Newport Road, Ocean Way, Hadfield Road, and a small part of Western Avenue.Newport Road will revert to 30mph along its entire length, except for the section outside St Illtyd’s Catholic School.
Western Avenue changes will apply to a small section west of the Taff River Bridge to the junction with Cardiff Road/Llandaff Road. Meanwhile, Ocean Way will change from its junction with Beignon Close to Rover Way, Hadfield Road will also revert to 30mph between Leckwith Road and Penarth Road.
The Welsh Government’s mandatory 20mph limits have faced significant public backlash since being rolled out, with the largest petition ever recorded calling for the end of the scheme.
This has prompted officials to review the policy with local authorities now given the power to change back the speed limits if they deem it suitable. More stretches of road are expected to revert to 30mph, particularly those away from built-up areas.
Last month, Wrexham announced that 50 stretches of road would return to 30mph limits with Cardiff following. The council conducted a thorough review of 192 roads after receiving 933 requests to revert speed limits across 232 roads.
But the review found that many requests were not eligible due to road characteristics and location. 40 roads were disqualified for not having a 20mph limit or being outside Cardiff and of the roads reviewed, 178 received fewer than 10 requests.
Excalibur Drive in north Cardiff received the most requests, according to the BBC with 207 from 26 residents, but they did not qualify as it surrounds numerous properties and community facilities.
Dan De’Ath, Cardiff council’s cabinet member for transport, said the council “fully supports” the Welsh Government’s 20mph policy.
However, he noted that the changes would help reduce congestion and ensure consistency with surrounding routes across the region.
Transport Minister Ken Skates previously said the decision to reverse parts of the controversial £34million policy was in response to “consistent” concerns raised by “a lot of people”.
But despite more roads going back to 30mph, data has shown that the 20mph policy had a positive safety impact, with about 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20mph and 30mph roads in its first year.
De’Ath said the speed limit will remain in areas with high pedestrian and cyclist activity unless evidence proved higher speeds were safe.
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20mph speed limits were seen to have contributed in reducing road casualtiesPA“This approach balances the need for efficient traffic flow with the safety and well-being of all road users,” he explained.