Update on divisive plans to reduce Birmingham's 40mph roads to 30mph

The council launched a consultation on proposals to review all of its existing 40mph speed limits last year, saying they had been driven by concerns over “anti-social and dangerous driver behaviour”.

It added that the scheme aims to improve road safety and encourage active travel such as walking and cycling.

However, 949 of the people who responded were opposed to the 30mph speed limit (around 56.7 per cent) while 635 said they supported it (around 37.9 per cent).

Another 90 respondents said they were neutral towards the proposals.

Despite the proposals splitting opinion, the council has confirmed that work is “well underway” on the legal process required to allow police to enforce the new limits once imposed.

Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for transport, said earlier this month: “We’re working hard with our partners to tackle Birmingham’s road safety emergency.

“This change will save lives but we must now go through legal process with a number of statutory steps to take in the coming months.

“Drawings and supporting materials are currently being prepared before a 40 to 30 miles per hour traffic regulation order is advertised in the next few weeks. We will then review any feedback before moving onto site works before the end of the year,” he continued before adding the council needs to prioritise people.

According to the consultation, it is not proposed to have physical speed reduction measures or new enforcement cameras as part of the current project.

Any existing speed enforcement cameras would be recalibrated to reflect the reduced speed limit.

“The delivery costs would be funded from the Clean Air Zone’s (CAZ) surplus income,” it continued. “This funding is ringfenced for use on transport schemes only and cannot be used for other purposes.”