A recent report shows minimal changes in journey times after the 20mph speed limit was introduced in Southampton, with some areas seeing slight delays.
Southampton: The city council just released a report on the new 20mph speed limits. It looks at how these changes have affected traffic since they started rolling out.
They’re planning to keep an eye on things with a second phase evaluation later on. This will dive deeper into road safety and how people feel about the changes.
So far, they’ve looked at areas like Bassett and Flowers, St Denys, and Shirley. The report shows that average speeds dropped from about 22.92mph to 20.77mph, which is a good sign.
Interestingly, they found that journey times on some roads, like Hill Lane, only increased by a few seconds. It seems like other factors, like traffic lights, are more to blame than the speed limit itself.
They also noted some vandalism with the new signs, which is a bit of a bummer. But the council has plans to tackle that with better signage and road markings.
Overall, the report suggests that people are starting to adapt to the new limits. It’s a big change for the city, and they’re hoping it’ll lead to safer streets in the long run.
Looking ahead, they want to keep rolling out these limits, especially in busy areas. They’re also considering feedback from residents about possibly changing some roads back to 30mph.
