Local Greens have called on East Dunbartonshire Council to roll out 20mph zones to all residential streets after Scottish Green MSPs published Freedom of Information requests (1) which show a "postcode lottery" of road safety across Scotland.
Councils were asked how many 20mph zones they have. The results show a huge variation, with Clackmannanshire saying all residential streets are 20mph and Edinburgh saying the majority of its streets are 20mph with a further 810 zones planned. By contrast, East Dunbartonshire has only 10 streets in 20mph zones - one of the lowest numbers in Scotland- and no plans to introduce any new 20mph zones.
Prospective Green Party candidate for Bearsden South Scott Ferguson said:
"Children and the elderly are being put at risk by our failure to deliver safe speed limits where people live. This postcode lottery of uncompleted patchworks of part time 20 mph zones across our towns is not enough to deliver safe communities.
"I believe we need to change the law so that 20 rather than 30 mph is the default speed limit in residential areas, and it’s Green MSPs’ intention to bring forward a member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament in the coming months to do just that.
“People in communities across East Dunbartonshire support reducing speed limits but this has proven a real struggle, despite the obvious benefits to safety and public health. The pace of change is too slow, so new legislation is needed to make it easier for Councils to reduce speed limits consistently.”
(1) Councils were asked how many 20mph zones they have and whether any more are planned. They replied as follows:
Numbers below refer to permanent 20mph zones unless otherwise stated.
Aberdeen City Council – 118 streets.
Aberdeenshire Council (no reply) – Provided extensive paperwork relating to Traffic Regulation but did not specify how many 20mph zones are in force.
Angus Council (no reply)
Argyll and Bute Council 105 Streets, 9 more planned
Edinburgh City Council Majority of streets covered, 810 more planned
Clackmannanshire Council All Residential Streets covered, don't know if more are planned
Dumfries and Galloway Council Information Not Held
Dundee City Council (no reply)
East Ayrshire Council Information Not Held
East Dunbartonshire Council 10 Streets covered, no more planned
East Lothian Council 69 streets covered, future zones Not Yet Determined
East Renfrewshire Council (no reply)
Falkirk Council 0 Streets covered, 0 more planned
Fife Council 4804 Streets covered, Information Not Held on future zones
Glasgow City Council 74 areas (205.75km) covered, similar sized areas in coming years
Highland Council 64 Streets covered, Information Not Held on future zones
Inverclyde Council 24 Streets covered, no more planned
Midlothian Council (no reply)
Moray Council 40 streets covered, no more planned
North Ayrshire Council 3 Streets covered, no more planned
North Lanarkshire Council 206 Streets covered, future zones Not Yet Determined
Orkney Islands Council 24 Streets covered, future zones Information Not Held
Perth & Kinross Council 43 Areas covered, no more planned
Renfrewshire Council (no reply)
Scottish Borders Council 79 Streets covered, 1 more planned
Shetland Islands Council 90 Streets covered, 6 more planned
South Ayrshire Council 344 Streets covered, 1 more planned (and all new residential developments required to have 20mph)
South Lanarkshire Council 370 Streets covered, 63 more planned
Stirling Council 725 zones (includes part-time), future zones No decision made
West Dunbartonshire Council 41 Streets covered, no more planned
Western Isles (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar) 29 zones (includes part-time), no more planned
West Lothian Council (no reply)