Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy, Science and Transport
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
This written statement provides an update on the setting of local speed limits on roads in Wales.
The Welsh Government is committed to reducing road traffic collisions and injuries, and developing safer environments for all road users, within a road system that strengthens rural communities and aids wider economic, social and environmental objectives. Speed limits play a fundamental role in effective speed management designed to encourage, help and require road users to adopt appropriate and safe speeds.
Guidance on the setting of local speed limits in Wales was published in October 2009. The guidance asked highway authorities (22 local highway authorities and Welsh Government as highway authority for the trunk roads) to review speed limits on all their A and B roads.
The guidance specifically asks highway authorities to ensure that they take the views and concerns of communities into consideration when undertaking the review. For Welsh Government this means ensuring all correspondence with communities relating to speed and safety are taken into account in the reviews. It also requires the road traffic collision data to be considered. The review of speed limits on the trunk road network will be completed by the end of December 2014.
Any potential changes to speed limits identified by the review will be subject to consultation with public and Community Councils.