THERE have been more than 300 requests from residents of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) to change the speed limits of roads in the county borough following the introduction of the Welsh Government’s 20mph limit.
There have been 313 requests from RCT residents and organisations to change speed limits according to a report for the council’s climate change, frontline services, and prosperity committee.
RCT had one of the highest rates of 30mph exceptions applied across Wales implementing 84 including 18 in the Rhondda, 16 in Cynon, and 50 in Taff, figures show.
Tim Phillips, RCT Council’s temporary head of traffic and transportation services, told the committee that, at this point in time, a large proportion of roads would stay at 20mph which is something that is also coming from other authorities who are more advanced in the process.
But he said it’s too early to tell how it would play out in RCT but he suspects they’re not going to see a huge change.
There are two main elements to deciding on exceptions to the 20mph default speed limit which include active travel opportunities and location in relation to things like schools, hospitals, and residential areas.
In July 2022 the Welsh Government passed the Restricted Roads (20mph speed limit) (Wales) Order and the committee heard from Mr Phillips that Welsh Government shows there’s been a 15% decrease in collisions on the network across Wales since the default limit came in in September 2023.
Councils are responsible for the traffic regulation orders (TROs) for any exceptions and physical changes such as signs and lines.
The council has removed 3,140 signs, installed in excess of 2,000 new ones, and hundreds of gateways have either been removed or installed.
There will be a six-stage review process around the requests for speed limits to be changed.
These include:
- A sift of requests
- A review of requests
- Publishing the review of requests
- Starting the TRO (traffic regulation order) process
- The decision
- Implementation
A petition of 500,000 people was submitted to Welsh Government in 2023 calling for the law to be rescinded and 30mph limits reinstated after which the Welsh Government commissioned a review team to challenge how the 20mph was implemented and how exceptions have been applied by councils.
Revised guidance was then published in July last year.
Welsh Government has committed to funding the cost of the scheme and a further bid for funding for 2025-26 of £405,000 has been submitted.
