The Welsh Government has published guidance for local authorities on exemptions from the upcoming statutory default 20mph limit on restricted roads.
The legislation, which was passed by the Senedd in July and comes into force in September 2023, does not apply a blanket speed limit but changes the national default limit in the country from 30mph to 20mph.
Restricted roads are defined by section 82 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as roads with a system of street lighting furnished with lamps not more than 200 yards apart.
Deputy minister for climate change Lee Waters (pictured) told the Senedd that the Welsh Government has been working closely with highway authorities to design a process for making 30mph exceptions.
It has now published Exceptions Guidance, which he said ‘provides a tool to help apply reasoning for making any exception, whilst also taking into account local factors and circumstances’.
It will also ensure that a consistent approach is taken across Wales, Mr Waters said.
The guidance suggests that most exceptions are expected to be made on A and B classified roads.
It primarily relies on two questions regarding a road being considered for an exception. The first is whether there are significant numbers (or potential numbers, if speeds were lower) of pedestrians and cyclists travelling along or across the road.
If there are not, ‘an exception for a 30mph speed limit may be appropriate’. It may also be appropriate if the pedestrians and cyclists are not mixing with motor traffic, or if supported by ‘the robust and evidenced application of local factors’.
The guidance includes ‘Place’ criteria to help highway authorities determine which sections of roads may have significant demand for people walking and cycling.
These include proximity (within a 100m walk) to educational settings, community centres and hospitals, and where the number of residential and/or retail premises fronting a road exceeds 20 properties per kilometre.
The guidance also includes the ability to apply other local factors to exempt such roads, such as where people do not generally cross the road to reach facilities, and advice that 20mph limits may be appropriate on roads that do not meet place criteria but otherwise see significant demands, or potential demands, for walking and cycling.
It states: ‘All existing 20mph roads, whether zones or limits, which have been made by Order should retain their existing speed limit. Where roads are lit these existing 20mph Orders should be revoked, unless roads in the area generally have their limits set by Order.'
Mr Waters said that to assist with the understanding of where the exceptions will be located, the Welsh Government has launched an interactive map that will be updated regularly as highway authorities go through the consultation process.
