Manchester City Council open up consultation for permanent 30mph speed limit on key city centre road

A major Manchester city centre road could soon have its 30mph speed limit made permanent. This comes as the city council opened up a consultation into the road. 

Manuncian Way runs through the heart of the city, and since November 2022 it has been under a temporary speed limit of 30mph. This is known as a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) and has reduced the speed limit from 50mph. 

This temporary measure was brought in following a series of collisions and accidents on the road. A review of incidents between May 2016 and May 2021 showed that a total of 47 confirmed collisions took place, with 58 people becoming an injured victim through these. The figures also exclude the tragic death of a motorist in January 2022 which also saw two other people seriously injured. 

The reduction in speed will cover the whole of Mancunian Way between Egerton Street and Fairfield Street, including the 40mph section between Downing Street and Fairfield Street. The new 30mph will connect to existing 20mph or 30mph streets, making the whole area 30mph or below.

The consultation opened up on Monday November 20 and will run for four weeks. The closing date is December 7 and if you wish to take part in the consultation, you can visit the Manchester City Council website. 

Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment and Transport said: “The Mancunian Way, which was first opened in 1967, is no longer designed to cope with the levels of traffic it sees daily.

“We have gone from an age that saw tens of thousands of cars on the road to millions, yet this road is still operating under the same principles it launched under 50 years ago. Ultimately we are hoping to prevent injury and potentially save lives by introducing this change.”