Birmingham hopes to become England’s first 20mph city as the ‘anti-motorist’ council moves to reduce the speed limit on hundreds of roads.
The Liberal DemocratThe green and independently run council wants to prevent cars from ‘dominating’ the streets and instead encourages residents to walk and cycle.
However, critics say the local authority is ‘determined to make it harder’ for people to get around the city, with Reform UK claiming the proposals are ‘anti-motorist’.
Birmingham was once known as Britain’s ‘motor city’ due to its massive car production and pioneering road designs.
But the municipal council is now insisting that a speed limit of 32 km/h applies on all routes under the A-roads.
The local authority has mapped out how Birmingham’s transport system will be ‘transformed’ by 2031 to ‘meet the challenges of the next decade’.
The Birmingham Transport Plan sets out how ‘walking, cycling and active travel’ will do this become the first choice for most people making short trips in their local neighborhood’ because ‘cars will no longer dominate street life around houses and schools’.
The council hopes to introduce a speed limit of 30 km/h as ‘standard on all local roads’ over the next five years.
Under proposals from Birmingham City Council, private cars would be limited to 20mph in many parts of the city
The local government insists that a speed limit of 30 km/h applies on all routes under the A-roads
The plan states: ‘Ending the dominance of cars on streets in residential areas, around schools and in local centers will increase active traffic, improve air quality and reconnect communities.
‘It will also provide important support for the wider regeneration of local centres, boosting economic growth and employment opportunities.
‘Transport plays an important role in connecting new residential areas and local centers and offers sustainable and active forms of travel.’
According to the city council’s proposals, this means ‘introducing 20mph as the standard speed for all residential streets and local centers in Birmingham, while maintaining a speed limit of 50 km/h on strategic roads and distributor roads.
As part of the transformation, access to the city center will be limited to private cars, in favor of a network of pedestrian streets and cycle and public transport routes.
The plans come despite the Department for Transport saying in June that 30km/h restrictions ‘should only be used where they are appropriate and supported by evidence’.
UK Reform Councilor and Leader of the City Council Opposition Jex Parkin said The Telegraph: ‘This is yet another anti-motorist policy from a council that seems determined to make traveling in Birmingham more difficult.
‘People already have enough traffic jams, restrictions and disruptions to deal with, without another general measure being imposed on them.’
Mr Parkin told it too BirminghamLive: ‘People are tired of feeling like driving around their own city is a problem.
‘Birmingham’s roads are difficult enough to navigate without the council putting another obstacle in the way of people.’
‘This is an anti-motorist policy and Reform will oppose it. Maintain 20mph where safety is really needed, but scrap the idea that this should become the standard across Birmingham.”
Birmingham was once known as Britain’s ‘motor city’ due to its massive car production and pioneering road designs
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It comes after RAC data last month revealed the number of drivers caught speeding in 20mph zones had tripled in two years.
In 2023, 37,219 motorists across the country had exceeded 20mph speed limits. But last year this figure rose to 125,133. That is an increase of 235 percent.
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council told the Daily Mail: ‘By introducing 20mph limits in residential areas and local centers we can put people – rather than cars – first.
‘In 2014 the council adopted a policy that the speed limit on most roads in Birmingham should be 20mph, introduced through ‘sign only’ areas.
‘This would equate to around 90 per cent of the city’s roads in length – with a 20mph limit for residential streets, local centres, close to school entrances, local attractions, health centers and hospitals, and public transport hubs.
‘Pilot projects were planned for Birmingham city center and areas to the east and south, which would ultimately cover around a third of the city.
‘However, due to the relatively high cost of area-based programmes, the 30km/h rollout has been carried out on a more targeted basis, in response to local road safety concerns or near schools.
‘Evidence from around the world on lower speed limits is very clear: it reduces the number of collisions, saves lives and reduces the number of injuries. So our message is simple: Slower is safer.
‘Lower speeds are less intimidating for those walking or cycling, activities we need to encourage more if we want to reduce harmful emissions and traffic levels in the city.’
