Call for 'ridiculous' 20mph Newport roads to revert to 30mph

South Wales Argus

2 days ago

Earlier this year, the council published a traffic regulation order (TRO) stating the council's intention to change the speed limit in 16 areas from 20mph back to 30mph.
The TRO was open to comments from the public, to be considered by the council. A report published from Newport City Council by the Cabinet Member for Assets and Infrastructure, Rhian Howells, considered the responses to the TRO.
Many roads are under consideration to return to 30mph (Image: Google) Whilst Caerphilly Road and Usk Road have been excluded from the changes due to the road's proximity to schools, seven other roads are due to change from 20mph to 30mph.
Welsh government figures outline that collisions along roads that changed from 30mph to 20mph have decreased by 19 per cent in 2024 in comparison to figures from 2023. South Wales Argus reached out to members of the public to ask for their opinions on these changes.
Dave Drewett believes 30mph limits should return to main roads (Image: Helen Turnbull) Dave Drewett, from Rogerstone, commented that he agrees with the 20mph roads around schools, 'but on main roads it should be at 30mph'.
On the other hand, George McCan, a resident of Newport, noted that when he drives at 20mph in his electric vehicle, he uses very little battery.
He said: 'There is a speed zone where the car charges itself whilst I'm driving, which is brilliant."
Whilst he did agree that the majority of roads should go back to 30mph, he noted that 'so many people drive well over the speed limit', proposing that speed bumps and speed cameras should be installed to monitor this issue.
From a pedestrian point of view, Michael McCartney noted that the 20mph speed limit is confusing because 'sometimes it was difficult to tell whether people were slowing down to meet the speed limit or to allow pedestrians to cross'.
Steven Hendry, a resident of Newport for the past seven years, highlighted the environmental consequences of the 20mph limit: 'An older car going 20mph pollutes more than sitting at 30mph – that's why it was designed. So, when it went down to 20, all the cars end up polluting more because they are sitting at a slower speed and they're burning more fuel.'
Steven also noted public transport slowing down.
He said: 'I've noticed as well that my buses used to be every 15minutes, and now they are every 20 minutes. Because the buses are going slower, less buses are timetabled in the hour – it's impacted everything.'