Speed limits on all roads across Manchester ‘could be cut to 30mph’

Speed limits on all roads across Manchester could soon be cut to 30mph.

Manchester city council is reviewing roads in the city with 40mph speed limits.

Town hall sources say they do not intend to reduce all roads with 40mph speed limits down to 30mph – but one council boss suggested they do.

Speaking at a scrutiny meeting last week, head of network management Kevin Gillham told councillors about the ongoing review.

He said: “We are looking at speed limits in the city at the moment and we’ve got a programme looking at all those speed limits which are 40mph.

“We are reviewing them at the moment and the hope is we can start to reduce some of them down to 30mph.

“What that would mean is that all the roads in the city are at least 30mph.”

What’s the background?

The comments came after questions from councillors about road safety.

The council boss cited the ‘road danger reduction strategy’ by Transport for Greater Manchester which focuses on making streets feel safer for residents.

Gillham explained why the local authority is looking to reduce speed limits.

He said: “The incidents with speed when it comes to road accidents is often the difference between a slight accident, a serious accident or a fatal accident.

“So if we can bring those speeds down then that should start to have a real impact on the severity of accidents across the city.”

However, speaking after the communities and equalities scrutiny committee meeting, a town hall spokesperson said this is a regular review of the roads.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the review proposal was put forward late last year, but has not started yet with no specific deadline set.

Town hall sources say there is no intent to push for all 40mph zones to become roads with 30mph speed limits – although some might change.

The spokesperson said: “The council is undertaking a review of several speed limits across the city to determine if they are the correct speed limit for the area or whether they need to be reduced. There is currently no time frame to complete the review, nor when any new speed limits could be introduced.

“Traffic regulation orders are reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still appropriate for the traffic and road conditions.”