{"id":533,"date":"2025-10-12T16:50:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T15:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/?p=533"},"modified":"2025-10-12T16:49:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T15:49:39","slug":"goodbye-40-mph-october-rewrites-citys-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/goodbye-40-mph-october-rewrites-citys-map\/533\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye to 40 mph on key arteries \u2014 A late-October switch rewrites a major city\u2019s map"},"content":{"rendered":"

If changing a cities map is already difficult with the logistics and the outcomes of such change<\/strong>, imagine doing this in one of the main cities in the UK. This is what is happening in Birmingham. The city council decided to rearrange some roads to make the traffic flow better, but for this to happen they will have to deal with one of the busiest areas in the area. While this is not being well received by local groups, the rule it will go into effect this month. The speed limit will change, and residents will have to pay attention to the new rule<\/p>\n

Changes will rewrite Birmingham\u2019s map: Why now?<\/h2>\n

The local council is calling this move \u201croad safety emergency\u201d in the area. With hundreds of deaths every year caused by reckless, high speed driving, not only Birmingham and the UK, but also major cities in the U.S., Australia and other countries in Europe are making the speed limits lower. While some residents are not very fond of what will happen with the traffic in these regions, the general idea is to save lives \u2013 not making it all flow better.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s decision comes after a worrying rise in serious and fatal accidents on Birmingham\u2019s streets, often linked to reckless or anti-social driving. With lower speed limits, authorities aim to slow traffic, encourage safer driving habits, and make it easier to enforce the rules \u2013 and catch those who are not following correctly.<\/p>\n

New measure under effect soon: Traffic will be very different<\/h2>\n

Birmingham City Council<\/a> is working to update speed limit signs on 27 roads across the region. The city council fast-tracked the reduction from 40 to 30mph after declaring a road safety emergency last year. Police and council teams will be working together to keep drivers within the new speed limits. Enforcement will include red light cameras and extra average speed cameras in important spots around the city.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Between June 2023 and July 2024, at least 23 people lost their lives on Birmingham\u2019s roads, according to reports from local road safety groups. The council conducted a public consultation in 2023 on the idea of lowering 40mph limits. Out of 1,674 responses, a majority\u201456.7%\u2014opposed the switch, while around 38% supported it. Another factor to considered is the adoption of the measure by the veteran drivers still need to check their licence to keep driving.<\/a><\/p>\n

Only inside the city: Policing and camera will cover the region<\/h2>\n

Many objections focused on enforcement concerns, but the council has indicated that these issues are being addressed with expanded policing and camera coverage. Funding for the project will come from surplus income generated by Birmingham\u2019s Clean Air Zone charges, which have been earmarked for transport improvements. The changes will only apply to roads within city boundaries<\/strong> and are expected to take effect later this year. In 2024, the UK recorded just over 104,000 road collisions, with nearly 25,000 resulting in serious injuries or fatalities. On average, more than 900 car accidents happen every day, with the severity of each varying widely.<\/p>\n

These areas suffer the most: Pay attention and slow down here<\/h3>\n

Research by the Road Safety Foundation suggests that reducing speed limits around schools, hospitals, and busy event areas\u2014such as football matches or concerts\u2014can help cut the number of accidents in the city.<\/strong> While the surveillance using a camera is being also tested along the Road 66 in the U.S., the technology and the way many other countries handle these situations could be soon adopted by other nations. Adjustments like these also support the Foundation\u2019s Vision Zero goal, an initiative aimed at eventually eliminating road deaths and serious injuries altogether. There’s still a lot to go before the roads are safer<\/a>, but Birmingham is taking each step at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If changing a cities map is already difficult with the logistics and the outcomes of such change, imagine doing this in one of the main cities in the UK. This is what is happening in Birmingham. The city council decided to rearrange some roads to make the traffic flow better, but for this to happen … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":606,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions\/606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}