A petition to stop the Wales-wide introduction of the 20mph speed limit has closed early because it has received so many signatures. The decision to make 20mph the ‘default national position in residential areas' in Wales was made in July 2022 by the Senedd and the law will come into force on September 17, 2023.
A Senedd petition titled "Stop the change of speed limits to 20mph on 17th September" has now been signed by more than 21,000 people. When a Senedd petition receives more than 250 signatures it is discussed by the Petitions Committee in the Welsh Parliament. If a petition gets 10,000 signatures, it will be considered for a debate in the Senedd.
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The petition on the 20mph limit was not due to close for some time but the chair of the Senedd Committee Jack Sargeant said that "given the scale of signatures" and "the interest of the topic" he had asked the person who started the petition, a Mr Benjamin James Watkins, to see if he would be willing to close the petition early in order to make sure it could be properly considered before the date the new law came in.
The full petition reads: "This decision is not representative of the broader public opinion and as such, it is not democratic to implement the changes. An alteration to road laws on this scale should be subject to much more extensive polling or possibly as part of a Welsh referendum on the matter.
"The use of speed bumps and 20mph zones in built-up areas and near schools is a generally accepted practice for the safety of children and adults. The widening of these measures could lead to an increase in 'road rage' incidents and currently appears to be nothing more than a revenue stream for people to pay fines when they are caught speeding (when they are travelling at a safe speed).
"I am yet to see an opinion supporting the changes, I have asked multiple people locally and read the comments left by many people online. It was the negative response to the changes that prompted the creation of this petition. The new speed changes will disproportionately affect the commute times of people travelling by road for work, especially in areas where most roads are currently 30mph and have no bypass roads with higher speed limits."
Before they are debated in the Senedd, all petitions are discussed in the Business Committee who decided if it will be raised in the chamber. It is understood that if this debate was to go ahead it would take place on Wednesday, June 28.
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