Advice For Councils On 20MPH Zones

New guidance for councils on implementing 20mph speed limits has been published by the Scottish Government.

The guide, written with the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), aims to provide clarity on the options available to local authorities.

It comes after Edinburgh City Council announced plans to reduce the speed limit on the majority of roads in the capital to 20mph.

Guidance will aid greater consistency on setting 20mph speed restrictions throughout Scotland while encouraging local authorities to introduce them near schools, in residential areas and in other areas of our towns and cities where there is a significant volume of pedestrian or cyclist activity'', the Government said.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: By reducing speed on our roads we can create streets where the space is shared more equally between different road users and create a safer environment, encouraging people to make active travel choices.

Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2020 set challenging casualty reduction targets and aims to address speed as one of its main priorities. This new 20mph guidance will help towards achieving these targets by reducing speeds on our roads.''

Road safety charity Brake wants the default urban limit to be changed to 20mph across the whole country, and has encouraged councils to implement limits.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, said: As well as calling on national government to change the default urban limit to 20mph, Brake continues to encourage and support local authorities to GO 20 through implementing widespread 20 limits across cities, towns and villages.

Drivers can also help protect people on foot and bike right away wherever they are, by slowing down to 20mph around homes, schools and shops, even where the limit is still 30mph.''