Greens want 20mph zones in all built-up areas

● Party says more action is needed to tackle nationwide ‘postcode lottery’

New laws which would enforce 20mph zones on builtup areas across Scotland will be brought forward by the Greens this year.

The party has published freedom of information (FOI) responses which indicate a “postcode lottery” exists throughout the country, with some councils taking a blanket approach to the zones in residential areas and others having none.

The Scottish Government wants to see a shift towards more 20mph zones in towns and cities as part of a drive to improve road safety. They are already widespread in central areas of Edinburgh and other cities.

Butgreenmspmarkruskell said the pace of change has not been fast enough to protect many pedestrians.

“Children and the elderly are being put at unnecessary risk

0 Mascot The Reducer launched 20mph zones in Edinburgh city centre. The Greens now want them everywhere of injury and death by our failure to deliver consistent speed reduction where people live,” he said.

Mr Ruskell now plans to introduce a member’s bill at Holyrood later this year to make 20mph the default speed limit for residential areas, instead of 30mph.

The figures obtained by the Greens show a wide variation in the number of 20mph zones in different local authorities. Clackmannanshire Council said all its residential streets have a 20mph limit, while Edinburgh City Council said the “majority” of streets are covered, with a further 810 planned. North Ayrshire Council only has four permanent 20mph zones and Falkirk has none.

The Green MSP said: “I believe we need to change the law so that 20mph rather than 30mph is the default speed limit in residential areas, and it’s my intention to bring forward a member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament in the coming months to do just that.

“Withlowerspeedlimits,you hugely increase the chance of surviving after being hit by a car. By making 20 rather than 30 the default, we can make built-up streets safer.

“There are stories of frustration from communities across Scotland where reducing speed limits has proved a real struggle, despite the obvious benefits to safety and public health.

“The pace of change is too slow, so new legislation is needed to make it easier for councils to reduce speed limits consistently.”

The prospect of blanket 20mph zones met with some criticism when MSPS debated the issue in Holyrood recently.

Tory Lothians MSP Gordon Lindhurst said at the time: “A blanket roll-out may have the effect of diverting the attention of the driver away from the significance of adopting slower speeds in areas such as around schools.”