More Inverness roads to be given 20mph speed limits
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DOZENS more residential roads in Inverness look set to become 20mph zones.
Highland Council has announced plans to impose a string of traffic orders which would apply to routes in Raigmore, Kingsmills and Dalneigh, with the move largely welcomed by road safety and cycling groups as well as community representatives.
The changes have been heralded by some as the final stage in getting traffic properly under control.
New limits are set to be introduced in:
- Raigmore: Ashton Crescent, Ashton Road, Beechwood Court, Beechwood Road, Chattan Avenue, Churchill Road, King Duncans Gardens, Mackintosh Place, Mackintosh Road and Stratton Road.
- Kingsmills: Alamein Drive, Anzio Road, Burma Court, Marne Road, Rhine Drive, Sicily Road, Somme Crescent, Tobruk Road, Viewfield Road and Wimberley Way.
- Dalneigh: Bruce Gardens, Park Road, Bruce Park, Lindsay Avenue, Maxwell Drive and Smith Avenue
Highlands and Islands MSP David Stewart, who has long campaigned on road safety issues, welcomed the move, insisting “making our roads safer should be the aim of us all.”
He said: “One fatal, or one serious injury, road collision is one too many and we have to use every tool at our disposal to ensure our roads are as safe as possible.
“Travelling at 30mph in areas where children are playing, or going to or coming from school, is too fast a speed.
“Across the nation, 20mph speed restrictions in such areas are becoming the norm and rightly so.
“However, we have to make sure that at the same time we continue to tackle driver behaviours and also address confusion with alternating speed restrictions.
“Keeping it simple is the best solution. Let’s do away with the alternating 20mph and then 30mph.”
It was recently reported how £15,000 from the council’s Inverness West ward discretionary budget was spent on speed bumps in the Dalneigh area.
This was after research commissioned by local councillors Alex Graham and Graham Ross showed how traffic volume in the area had increased by a third in just two years, with more than 1500 vehicles a day passing along Maxwell Drive alone.
At the time Cllr Graham acknowledged many motorists would not like the new traffic calming measures and yesterday welcomed news that a 20mph limit was also now in the works.
“These limits are the final stage in getting traffic properly under control in the area,” he said. “This has been a longstanding concern.
“We did have an advisory 20mph limit in place, but with this order that speed can now become statutory, with real consequences for anyone caught going over it.”
Bryan Mackenzie, chairman of the voluntary Highland Cycle Campaign which works to improve the cycling environment, hoped that lower speed limits might encourage more keen, but nervous, would-be cyclists that getting out on the road by bike is something they could now do more safely.
Statistics suggest that someone hit by a car travelling at 30mph has a 50 per cent chance of being killed as a result, with the odds reduced to just 10 per cent where a vehicle is going at 20mph.
A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said: “RoSPA strongly supports the use of 20mph zones as they are an effective means of reducing road crashes and casualties.
“They are very effective at protecting our most vulnerable road users, including children, pedestrians and cyclists, and significantly decrease the risk of being injured in a collision.
“RoSPA encourages their greater use, especially in residential areas.”
The Crown area of Inverness already has a number of 20mph zones.
Pat Hayden, chairwoman of Crown and City Centre Community Council, said she would be happy to see the measure extended.
“I think particularly around schools and in residential areas where you’re going to have a large number of children, as well as older people, then it’s definitely a good thing,” she said.
“Motorists in the city centre also have to be careful. There’s no need for going so fast in a lot of places and if you’re not going too fast then you can react better to unexpected situations, which is all to the good.”
Council road safety officer Alan Bryce said: “This is part of Highland Council’s plans to make communities safer by enhancing quality of movement, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists within communities.
“More 20mph schemes will be being brought forward in other communities both this financial year and next.”
Copies of the proposed traffic orders can be inspected at the council service point in Church Street, Inverness during weekday office hours. Any objections must be made in writing by January 6 to the council.
