Ted Peskett, Local Democracy Reporter

Councillors have called for roads that were recently changed to 20 mph speed limits to revert back to 30 mph.

The motion calling for the U-turn, tabled by the Conservatives group at Cardiff Council, also calls for an urgent review into the impacts of the default 20 mph speed limit and for the findings to be published in three months.

A new law introduced by the Welsh Government means that nearly all built up areas in Wales became 20 mph zones from September 17.

Local authorities were asked to submit certain roads which they felt should be exempt from the default 20 mph speed limit.

No date has yet been given for a debate on the recent motion, proposed by Councillor Joel Williams and seconded by Councillor Calum Davies.

In full, it calls on Cardiff Council to:

Exempt all roads within Cardiff that had 30 mph speed limits before the introduction of The Restricted Roads (20 mph speed limit) (Wales) Order 2022 from remaining at 20 mph and therefore revert these roads back to 30 mph speed limits

Undertake an urgent review into the adverse impacts of the default 20 mph speed limit and publish findings within three months of the date of this motion being debated

Once roads in Cardiff revert back to 30 mph speed limits; work with local communities to ensure any requests to reduce roads to 20 mph speed limits are undertaken on a case-by-case basis

Mixed reaction

The introduction of the 20 mph speed limit law has resulted in a mixed reaction from members of the public and ignited fierce political debate.

Those opposed to it argue that it will have a negative impact on the Welsh economy, increase congestion and increase response times for emergency call outs.

A petition set up calling for the default 20 mph speed limit law to be rescinded has so far gained more than 455,000 signatures.

Welsh Government deputy minister for climate change, Lee Waters, survived a vote of no confidence last week which was put forward by the Conservatives following the introduction of the 20 mph law.

However, there has also been wide support for the new law, which is intended to improve road safety.

The leader of Cardiff Council, Councillor Huw Thomas, vocalised his backing of the new law in the most recent full council meeting on September 21. He said: “I am very proud how most of the city is already 20 mph.

“We had repeated calls across numerous parties to roll this out in their areas. It will save lives.”

A number of polls were carried out in relation to the introduction of the 20 mph law.

One poll, carried out by YouGov on behalf of Welsh language magazine Barn Cymru, saw 61% of the 1,051 respondents answer that they were opposed to the speed limit reduction.

The same poll saw 31% of respondents answer that they were in support of the speed limit reduction.

Another poll, conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, saw 46% of respondents supporting the speed limit change and 34% opposing it.

A poll for ITV showed that 66% of respondents were opposed to the speed limit change and that 31% support it.