A NORTH Wales MS has called for criteria for changing roads from 20mph back to 30mph to be urgently reviewed.

Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, says it is almost impossible for councils to change roads back to 30mph because the criteria is too strict.

The criteria includes consideration of place, movement, road characteristics, speed limit assessment, minimum lengths of speed limits and buffer speed limits.

The Welsh Government anticipates that most speed limit changes from 20mph to 30mph will be made on A and B roads, which are typically main or strategic roads. 

A 30mph speed limit could be set on roads if they are located outside city, town or village centres and away from places that attract frequent pedestrian and/or cyclist traffic, or on roads with low housing density (less than 20 properties per km) and where if there are pedestrians and cyclists they are or could be segregated from motor traffic.

30mph limits would also not be appropriate on sections of roads which may have significant demand for walking, wheeling and cycling including; within 100m walk of educational settings, community facilities and medical facilities.

Mr Rowlands, a long-time critic of the introduction of the 20mph default speed limit claims the guidance for councils will do very little to satisfy angry and frustrated motorists.

He said: “I have said many times since this nonsensical and crazy law was introduced the Welsh Government is not prepared to listen to what the public wants and should be scrapped.

“Almost half a million people in Wales signed a petition against this implementation, however, this was totally ignored by Welsh Government and they pressed ahead. Not considering the fall out for the public, services, businesses and the economy.

“Only last month I warned that the so called ‘listening campaign’ would lead to hardly any roads being reverted back to 30mph and I remain extremely concerned that the criteria for councils to change roads from 20mph back to 30mph is far too strict and takes no account of what local people think.

“I recently heard that councillors in Kinmel Bay have written to Conwy County Borough Council to request that Foryd Road and St Asaph Avenue have their speed limits changed, however, because of the strict criteria this is unlikely to happen.

“I often drive along both these roads and quite clearly they could be reverted back to 30mph. There are also many roads across North Wales in the same situation and it really isn’t good enough.

“I do have some sympathy for local councils as their hands appear to be tied when it comes to making decisions about the speed limits but I believe the criteria is unworkable and needs urgently reviewing.”