Southampton City Council wants more 20mph speed limits

Councillor Lorna Fielker also said that she believes people should adhere to the lower limits, after complaints from residents they were not being followed.

She was speaking at a public meeting regarding the Townhill Park redevelopment on Tuesday, a resident asked the leader of Southampton City Council why the residential roads of Townhill Park had a speed limit of 30 miles per hour.

The resident, who uses a mobility scooter, said she often finds it difficult to cross the road due to the speed motorists travel through the area.

In response, Cllr Fielker said: “The council believe residential areas should be 20 miles per hour and we believe people should adhere to those.

“More people have started to slow down but it is an issue around traffic enforcement which is a job for the police.

Cllr Lorna Fielker (Image: Newsquest)“The police don’t have the resources to do it, so it comes down to motorists driving responsibly.”

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When the council planned this decision in 2022, 14 areas in the city marked for speed reduction which was met with controversy by many residents.

At the being of May, the council partly U-turned on this decision and Hill Lane and Shirley High Street are set to be returned to a 30 miles per hour.

The resident added that when attempting to cross she had even witnessed buses not adhering to the 30 mile per hour limit.

Cllr Fielker added: “If you see a bus speeding, you need to make sure you report that to Bluestar so that the driver can be held to account.

“It is difficult to enforce but the intention is to increase 20 mile per hour limits across residential areas.”

Despite the council’s plans, many have raised the concern that the 20mph speed limits have caused congestion on main roads.