Ministers are contemplating plans to make 20mph the default speed limit in built up areas.
A draft version of Manual for Streets, the planning document from the Department for Transport, says: “The default should be to work to a design speed limit of 20mph in urban environments.”
It adds that “for residential streets, a maximum design speed of 20mph should normally be an objective, with significantly lower speeds usually desirable”.
The Welsh government will reduce speed limits from 30mph to 20mph on roads where cars mix with pedestrians and cyclists from September, while Scotland will make 20mph the “norm” for built-up areas, allowing councils to set exceptions if there is evidence it is safe.
