Councillors in Huntingdonshire are supporting a recommendation that 30 miles per hour should be the ‘normal’ speed limit through villages. Their view has been passed to Cambridgeshire County Council – the highway authority responsible for the introduction of speed limits on the local road network.

New guidance on speed limits is being issued by the Department for Transport and as part of the consultation process, the district council’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel (service support) discussed the review at a recent meeting.

Key objectives in the new guidance include:
• Setting more appropriate speed limits depending on specific conditions
• Local speed limit reflecting the need of all road users
• Improved recognition and understanding of why speed limits apply
• Reduction in accidents where speed is a factor
• Greater respect for and compliance with speed limits
• Improved quality of life for local communities.

In supporting the county’s proposal to work towards a 30 miles an hour speed limit in the developed parts of villages, members of the panel expressed concern that there were still villages in Huntingdonshire that had a 40 miles an hour limit or greater. They welcomed continued dialogue with parish councils and asked that the local view would continue to be sought. In most circumstances changes to speed limits will only be considered following a request from the parish council.

They also noted as part of this new guidance that the County Council has been asked by Government to review all speed limits on A and B class roads across the County and implementing any recommendations arising from that work by 2011. The Panel expressed their concern at the burden that this will place on the County Council in meeting that deadline, particularly given existing financial constraints, as no funding appears to be forthcoming from Government at present.

Councillor Jonathan Gray, chairman of the panel said: ”The county’s Traffic Management Policy Engineer, David Brace, attended our meeting to explain the current position and the issues faced in taking the matter forward. We had a most constructive debate and question and answer session and have now written to the county council asking for our views to be taken into account in the review process.”