Glasgow will see phased rollout of 20mph roads from June

The phased rollout of 20mph speed limits on many roads across Glasgow is set to begin next month.

The first of six phases will see 194 streets or street sections in Govan reduced from 30mph to 20mph.

A legal order comes into force on Thursday 4 June, but it will only apply once signage is installed in the area over the following four weeks.

Around 3,800 streets or street sections in the city will move to a lower 20mph speed limit, but the timetable has not yet been set for all six phases.

There will be no change to roads with a speed limit of 40mph or above.

It is hoped the move will cut collisions, reduce injury severity and help create calmer, safer streets, especially for pedestrians and cyclists.

The rollout is part of a national strategy to drop the speed limit on most of Scotland's urban roads.

Glasgow City Council said areas have been prioritised based on collision data - particularly incidents involving people who walk and cycle.

Once the work in Govan has been delivered and reviewed, the rollout will progress through the council wards of Southside Central, Calton, East Centre and Shettleston to complete delivery of the first phase.

The new speed limits are being introduced under temporary traffic regulation orders, which are in place for up to 18 months.

These will be monitored and adjusted if needed, before permanent orders are brought in.

Angus Millar, city convener for transport and climate, said the work was an important step towards creating safer and calmer streets in the city.

He said: "Introducing safer speed limits is part of a wider effort to reduce the number and severity of road casualties – with lower speeds leading to calmer, safer and more liveable streets.

"We've already seen how effective this can be. Since Edinburgh brought in its default 20mph limit in 2018, collisions dropped by 30%, while default 20mph limits on residential streets are shown to have minimal impacts on overall journey times.

"Now as part of the ongoing national rollout of these default speed limits, we hope and expect that Glasgow will see similar progress."

Physical traffic calming measures, such as speed cushions, are not part of the initial rollout but they might be considered later.

A public information drop-in event has been arranged for between 15:00 and 19:00 on Monday 18 May at Elder Park Library in Govan.