New 20mph speed limit changes to impact hundreds of roads next month as drivers risk £100 fine

A major UK city has revealed plans to begin rolling out 20mph speed limits across hundreds of streets next month in one of its largest road safety programmes.

Glasgow City Council will begin converting more roads to 20mph from June 4, with Govan, which has almost 200 streets, set to have speed limits reduced.

As part of the changes, new road signs and markings will be installed over the following four weeks, with lower speed limits applying once the signage is in place.

In total, around 3,800 streets across Glasgow are expected to move to 20mph limits as part of a citywide scheme designed to cut collisions and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

However, roads currently set at 40mph or above will not be affected, as the council aims to create "calmer, safer and more liveable streets".

The rollout will happen in six phases, with areas chosen based on collision data, particularly incidents involving people walking or cycling.

After Govan is completed, work will move into neighbouring areas including Southside Central, Calton, East Centre and Shettleston.

Councillor Angus Millar said: "This is an important step towards creating safer, calmer streets across Glasgow. Introducing safer speed limits is part of a wider effort to reduce the number and severity of road casualties, with lower speeds leading to calmer, safer and more liveable streets."

Once the new speed limits are in place, drivers will need to follow the rules or risk being slapped with a £100 fine and three penalty points.

Councillor Millar also pointed to evidence from Edinburgh, where a similar 20mph scheme was introduced in 2018.

He added: "We've already seen how effective this can be. Since Edinburgh brought in its default 20mph limit in 2018, collisions dropped by 30 per cent, while default 20mph limits on residential streets are shown to have minimal impacts on overall journey times.

"Now, as part of the ongoing national rollout of these default speed limits, we hope and expect that Glasgow will see similar progress."

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The council explained that detailed technical work is still being carried out before dates are confirmed for the remaining phases of the rollout, including where signs are needed and planning traffic management.

The new speed limits will initially be introduced using Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders, which can remain in place for up to 18 months.

During that period, the council said it will monitor how the changes are working before deciding whether permanent limits should be introduced.

At this stage, the council stated there are no plans for widespread physical traffic calming measures such as speed bumps or cushions.

However, the local authority noted that they could be added later if monitoring shows extra measures are needed to encourage drivers to stick to the new limits.

Council reports detailed how the latest review of approximately 5,900 streets eligible for a cut in speed limits, with roughly 3,800 streets which operate at 30mph, is to be reduced.

However, the council identified around 700 streets across the region that will keep the existing 30mph limits for the foreseeable future.

Alongside capital funding, the delivery of the scheme is being supported by grant funding from Transport Scotland.