When Birmingham could slash almost all the city's 40mph speed limits

Birmingham is set to slash almost all the city's 40mph speed limits after a "road safety emergency" was declared following a spate of deaths. Maximum speeds would be cut to 30mph.

The city council launched a consultation on proposals to review 40mph speed limits last year as concerns over “anti-social and dangerous driver behaviour” continued to grow. At the time, the authority said the scheme aimed to improve road safety and encourage active travel such as walking and cycling.

The proposals ended up splitting opinion, with 949 of respondents opposed to the 30mph speed limit, 56.7 per cent. A total of 635 said they supported it, 37.9 per cent, while another 90 respondents said they were neutral towards the proposals.

READ MORE: PSPO proposal for Birmingham city centre 'not a cycling ban', council insists

But a decision was made to proceed with the consultation, noting that while more than 55 per cent of the responses did not support the scheme, a “significant” percentage of those - around 25 per cent - were not necessarily against the proposals but were concerned with there being inadequate levels of enforcement. Following the declaration of a road safety emergency in the summer, city transport boss Coun Majid Mahmood, has “fast-tracked” the proposed speed limit reductions.

A new public consultation opened today, November 19, on Speed Limit Orders, the legal documents required to make changes to the status of roads. It includes a list of roads across Birmingham where the speed limit could be slashed from 40mph to 30mph.

“Reducing speed limits aims to reduce the risk of road harm by slowing vehicle speeds,” the consultation said. “It also provides consistency across the city, improving driver compliance and aiding enforcement.”

It said changes to the highway, mainly changing and removing signs, would take place early in 2025, subject to approval of this order. The council said the costs for the project would come from surplus income from the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) .

Brumwish 2024 - buy a gift for a child in need

BrumWish 2024 is Birmingham Live's festive drive to get thousands of gifts to children and young people across our city - among them the homeless, the vulnerable, kids in care, kids who are poorly or struggling, and kids who have little.

There are THREE simple ways to help.

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3. Buy a gift and, even better, rope in friends, neighbours and workmates to do the same, then drop off your pressies at Edgbaston Stadium, Edgbaston Road, B5 7QU on Friday 6th December, 10am - 3pm; Saturday 7th December, 10am - 1pm; or Monday 9th December, 10am - 1pm. Volunteers will be there to help you. Please don't wrap your gifts. You can also drop off by arrangement until Monday 16th December - contact Louise on 07469 979286.

Thanks to our partnership with #Toys4Birmingham, every single gift will find a good home in the loving care of a child living in B&Bs or hotels, hostels or refuges, children receiving support from specialist organisations and charities, and families being supported by children's centres and charities around the city.

Making up the Brumwish and Toys4Birmingham gang are Thrive Together Birmingham, Birmingham Playcare Network, Warwickshire Cricket Foundation (the charitable arm of Warwickshire County Cricket Club), Birmingham Forward Steps and BirminghamLive/Birmingham Mail.

Thank you to Amazon UK and the amazing team at the Sutton Coldfield depot for their support.

This funding is ringfenced for use on transport schemes only and cannot be used for other purposes, it added. The previous consultation said it was not proposed to have physical speed reduction measures or new enforcement cameras as part of the project.

Any existing speed enforcement cameras would be changed to reflect the reduced speed limit. The new consultation, which closes on Tuesday, December 10, can be found on the Birmingham Be Heard website here.