Edinburgh floats lower speed limits

The City of Edinburgh Council is seeking views on whether to implement lower speed limits on many main roads.

The council has just launched a six-week review on the key issues for the next local transport strategy.

It asks whether 20mph limits should be extended to all residential streets, together with the city centre, as well as main roads in areas with high pedestrian activity – for instance tenement areas.

The council also suggests setting a maximum speed limit of 30mph for all streets with any ‘urban’ frontage. This would cut the existing 40mph limit on a number of main roads.

Streets outside some schools could be closed off to vehicular traffic for 20-30 minutes at school start and finish times “to create a safer, more pleasant environment for children immediately around the school”. The council concedes this may cause access problems for residents and would be challenging to manage and enforce.

A Low Emission Zone applying to buses and goods vehicles is also suggested. Alternatively, an LEZ could cover goods vehicles only with bus emissions tackled via a Statutory Quality Partnership or Traffic Regulation Conditions.

The council also asks whether funding for supported bus services should be increased by, for instance, setting aside a proportion of parking charge revenues or fine income from bus lane enforcement cameras. 

The new local transport strategy should be finalised by the end of the year.