The Welsh Government announced today that most local streets in Wales with a 30mph speed limit will switch to 20mph on September 17th. Along with improving road safety, reducing noise is highlighted as a benefit of the measure. First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
“Our streets will be quieter, reducing the scourge of noise pollution, and slower speeds also boosts the confidence of people to cycle and walk around their local areas and for children to play outdoors.”
Dr Sarah Jones, Consultant in Environmental Public Health for Public Health Wales, added:
“The evidence is clear that reducing traffic speeds has multiple health and wellbeing benefits. It improves road safety, reduces noise pollution and over time will help to tackle air pollution.”
Four years of work with local authorities, police and road safety experts designed the change in law, making Wales the first UK nation to reset the default speed limit for local roads. The move follows a similar approach in Spain where the speed limit on the majority of roads was changed to 30km/h in 2019.
