Birmingham has announced plans to reduce the speed limit on a raft of 40mph main roads to 30mph, with around 30 major routes expected to be impacted.
Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport with Birmingham City Council, said that the council would be making the speed limit on ‘virtually all roads a maximum of 30mph’ later on this year.
He also added that the city is on track to introduce six new locations for average speed cameras, stating that ‘swift and decisive action will be taken against those who break the rules of the road’.
The news comes after the major success of the West Midlands Road Safety Action Plan, introduced in November 2024. Figures from West Midlands Police have shown the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads in January to July 2025 was 471, an 18% reduction from 575 in 2024.
Part of the action plan also saw Mayor Richard Parker appoint Mat MacDonald as the UK’s first-ever Regional Road Safety Commissioner.
Dr MacDonald said: ‘The drop in deaths and serious injuries on our roads is fantastic news. We will continue to observe the data over the coming years in the hope that this is the beginning of a long overdue trend in these grim statistics.
‘The graft of partners across the board to achieve these results has been exceptional, but we know from over 1,200 places across the world that it is possible to create roads where no one is killed or seriously injured in a collision.'
The full list of roads reduced from 40mph to 30mph is:
- A34 Walsall Road, A34 Perry Barr Expressway, A34 Birchfield Road, A34 High Street: From Old Walsall Road to Old Park Walk (near Bartons Arms)
- A4041 Queslett Road: Hamble Road
- A452 Chester Road North: From the roundabout junction with A4041 Queslett Road East (at the city boundary), to Greenway Drive
- A5127 Lichfield Road: From south of Bishops Way to the roundabout at Watford Gap Road (city boundary)
- Webster Way/Thimble End Road: From Walmley Road to Walmley Ash Road
- Ox Leys Road: Springfield Road to Fox Hollies Road
- Webster Way/Thimble End Road: From Walmley Road to Walmley Ash Road
- A38/B4148 Tyburn Road: From Salford Circus to Chester Road roundabout
- B4148 Eachelhurst Road: From south of the railway bridge to the roundabout at A452 Chester Road
- A38 Kingsbury Road: From Minworth island (A4097 Kingsbury Road), to the junction with the B4148,Tyburn Road
- A4097 Kingsbury Road: From Wiggins Hill Road to city boundary
- A452 Chester Road: From the new Aldi on A452 Chester Road to the Castle Bromwich interchange near Newport Road
- B4147 Newport Road: From the Castle Bromwich interchange to the roundabout at Coleshill Road
- A47 Heartlands / Fort Parkway: From Spitfire Island to Saltley viaduct roundabout
- A47 Nechells Parkway: From the roundabout at B4132 Goodrick Way to the A4540 ring road (heading into the city)
- A4540 Ring Road clockwise (3 sections): From Dartmouth Circus to Spring Hill
- A45 Small Heath Highway: From the junction with Bolton Road to Heybarnes Circus
- A45 Coventry Road/A45 New Coventry Road: From Heybarnes Circus to the city boundary at Hatchford Brook
- Monmouth Drive: From Jevons Road to Somerville Road
- Weeford Road: From the mini roundabout at Harvest Fields Way to the A453, Tamworth Road
- A441 Redditch Road: From Burford Park Road to the city boundary at Longbridge Lane
- A38 Bristol Road South: Eastbound - a section either side of the junction with Park Way, Westbound - a section either side of the junction with Park Way and extending to the city boundary at Leach Green Lane
- B4121 Wolverhampton Road South, B4121 West Boulevard, Barnes Hill, Shenley Lane: From the junction with Hagley Road West to the junction with Black Haynes Road
- A456 Hagley Road West: From Perry Hill Lane to Bearwood Road/ Lordswood Road junction
- A41 Hockley Flyover (Soho Hill and Hockley Hill): From Key Hill to Soho Hill
- Lindridge Road: From Rectory Road to Withy Hill Road (as currently signed on site)
- Redhill Road: From Redditch Road to the BCC Boundary (as currently signed on site)
- Walmley Ash Lane and Cottage Lane: From the junction with Walmley Ash Road to the junction with Hurst Green Road
Image credit: Chris Homer / Shutterstock.com
