Residents lose petition for 20mph speed limit

A recent cabinet meeting heard a lower speed limit cannot be introduced as the council has not yet adopted the road

Residents who campaigned for the speeding limit on their estate to be reduced to 20mph on their estate have been told it cannot be introduced.

More than 50 people signed a petition to cut the current limit of 30mph that vehicles can travel at in Bannerbrook Park in Coventry.

However, at a city council cabinet meeting this week, it was announced the move would not be possible because the roads have not yet been adopted by the local authority.

It was agreed that extra traffic calming measures on the estate would be brought forward into the current financial year.

Conservative group leader Gary Ridley, who represents the Woodlands ward, said the issues of road safety and speeding motorists evoked passions within the community.

"I know that 50 people near enough have felt motivated to sign this petition, so I thought it important to air some of these things in public," he explained.

"I certainly welcome the commitment to bring forward potential traffic calming measures but would appreciate some clarity about what they look like and perhaps a bit more of a timescale."

John Seddon, the city council's strategic lead on transport and innovation, said: "My starting position is that where we have estates like this, then we should aim to get them adopted as quickly as possible, but one of the issues is to ensure that Severn Trent has adopted the drainage system before we go ahead and adopt the roads, which are built on the drains so we don't inherit a problem.

"In the long term, I don't see it [20mph speed limit] being a problem once the roads are adopted."

Once adopted, the city council would become responsible for maintaining and repairing the roads on the estate. Until then, they remain private and the responsibility of the developer or landowner.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.