Birmingham to make roads safer for pedestrians with new 30mph speed limit

A slower speed limit could be introduced for drivers in Birmingham in an attempt to reduce vehicle accidents with pedestrians.

The ring road in the city centre along with other major routes could be reduced from a limit of 40mph to 30mph.

West Midlands Police, alongside Birmingham City Council, said the plans will make roads safer for people and cyclists following a number of fatal accidents caused by dangerous drivers.

Plans also include on to extending how long the 'green man' lights stay on to give pedestrians and cyclists an extended right of way across busy road junctions, and a crackdown on drivers who use mobile phones and jump red lights.

Senior councillors have said they will be taking a "zero-tolerance approach" for drivers not abiding by the changes.

Councillor Liz Clements, cabinet member for transport at Birmingham City Council, said: "If we want our vision of better road safety to be a reality we can all agree that we can’t wait to make any necessary infrastructure changes. "So, in order to do this quickly we must transform our existing public spaces so they prioritise people rather than vehicles - that is how we can achieve a change in behaviour. "For far too long we have given priority to cars and other motor vehicles and this must change; we have set out in our transport plan how we want Birmingham to be a place to live and be, not drive and park." Councillor Clements wants to see a speed reduction from 40mph to 30mph on arterial roads in the city worst affected by dangerous driving and speeding.

West Midlands Police has also said they will run more local operations to catch out drivers who speed, use their phones or jump red lights. 

Chief Inspector Rebecca Barnsley, from the forces' Central Motorway Policing Group, said it is "committed to making our roads safer by tackling dangerous drivers, criminals and offenders who pose a serious risk to themselves and other road users".

"Alongside our partners we will continue to listen to the community, target ‘hotspot’ areas and focus on increasing the safety of all road users across the West Midlands," she said.

"We regularly conduct speeding operations and work with our local communities and volunteers with speedwatch operations in areas where we’ve been told that speeding is a concern."

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