Manchester City Council wants to install 20 mph speed limits on all non-major residential roads across the city.
The council has identified £500,000 of public health funding to set up the first phase of this project.
The move would not only seek to reduce accidents, but also encourage more cycling and walking in residential areas where cars would be deterred from using streets for short cuts from busy main roads.
Members of the council’s executive meeting on 29 May are set to agree how the funding would be used for maximum effect, and they will be asked to support plans for three areas of the city where a 20 mph limit will be in force.
The funding – which is enough to cover three parts of the city – would be allocated to areas of greatest need to keep children safe.
National statistics show that a child from a deprived area is five times more likely to be killed or seriously injured from a road accident.
The proposed areas in Manchester are:
Area 1 - Gorton north and Gorton south.
Area 2 - Miles Platting, Newton Heath, Ancoats and Clayton.
Area 3 - Hulme (east side of A5103 Princess Road), Moss Side and Fallowfield.
These areas would complement the existing 138 smaller 20 mph zones outside schools and subject to available funds would be the first phase in a move towards setting up a reduced speed limit on all non-major residential roads across the city.
Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s executive member for neighbourhood services, said: "We already have locations across the city where motorists are required to drive at 20mph to protect children and other pedestrians as well as cyclists.
"Projects like this have been popular with schools and parents, and have helped to reduce accidents, both here and in other parts of the country. We’ve committed to setting up a 20 mph speed limit on residential roads across the city and the first phase of that is due to start in the next few months when we set up three large areas of the city where this will be in force."
If members agree to the proposals, a public consultation will be held before the new 20 mph areas are created.
Traffic surveys would also be carried out before and after the introduction of the zones to monitor results.
In other news, a briefing document released by campaign group 20’s Plenty for Us shows says it would cost local authorities just £3 per head to introduce wide area 20 mph speed limits.
