Birmingham blanket 20mph speed limit discussed

A blanket 20mph speed limit for Birmingham is among potential measures being discussed by councillors looking to improve road safety in the city.

An inquiry was launched by the city council after it declared a road safety emergency in July.

A report of the inquiry’s findings, led by the council’s transport scrutiny committee, has been presented to the council.

The report revealed Majid Mahmood, the cabinet member for transport, had written to the Government asking for a city-wide 20mph limit. He told a meeting of the council on Tuesday that the authority was “making lots of progress” on the drive to introduce the lower speed limit.

Mr Mahmood added that he was lobbying for tougher sentences for dangerous drivers and said: “Driving is not a right but a privilege and everyone should be able to feel safe on the roads and pavements.”

The council is initially looking to reduce existing 40mph limits in the city to 30mph after road safety campaigners highlighted at least 23 deaths on Birmingham’s roads in the 12 months up until July this year.

But Green Party councillor Julian Pritchard said while the inquiry was “welcomed”, he wanted to see more action.

He said: “This is about the third or fourth debate that we’ve had on road safety in the last year or two…it does feel a little bit every time like Groundhog Day. We don’t see the real movement and the real change that our communities and residents are crying out for.”

A total of 16 recommendations in the report were voted through by councillors, including coming up with a plan to reduce speed limits in the city, tackling dangerous parking, and working with police on prevention and enforcement in areas such as speeding.

The council also aims to join forces with local MPs and West Midlands mayor Richard Parker to lobby the Government to fund a “London quality public transport network” in the city. The authority says this would reduce private vehicle use and therefore the number of serious injuries and deaths on the city’s roads.

Consultation was launched into road safety just over a week ago and residents can submit their views up until 10 December via the Birmingham City Council website.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]