Infrastructure Minister has welcomed the publication of
the review into Part-Time 20mph Speed Limits at schools.
Welcoming publication of the review report Minister O'Dowd
said: “As Minister responsible for road safety, I'm pleased
that the review of the part-time 20mph speed limit at schools
initiative, which saw this road safety measure introduced at 216
schools, is now complete and the report has been published.
“The review concludes that the initiative has been widely
welcomed and supported by the school community including parents
and school children as well as making young people feel
safer outside school grounds. The data collected as part of the
review also shows that there has been a general decrease in
traffic speeds at both school start and finish times, as a result
of the installation of the part-time speed limits.
“I am now considering the introduction of a further scheme
to enable these safety measures to be installed in some more
areas. I have also asked for consideration to be given to the
introduction of permanent 20mph speed limits in the vicinity of
schools and in residential areas as I believe that one of the
best ways to improve the safety of our roads and fulfil our
long-term goal of eliminating death and serious injury by 2050,
is by changing road user behaviour. As road users we all have a
personal responsibility to behave in a way that keeps ourselves
and others safe.
“The sad reality is that if we do not change our own attitudes
when we are using the roads, our death toll will continue to
increase.”
Notes to editors:
- The review of Part-Time 20mph Speed Limits at Schools is
available on the Department's website at: www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/review-part-time-20mph-speed-limits-schools
- The Department sought feedback from stakeholders including
the schools, parents, the PSNI and others, on how they felt the
initiative was working using an online survey to all schools that
had a part-time 20mph scheme introduced outside their gates.
- In total 163 schools responded to the on-line survey hosted
on the Citizens Space portal (76% response rate).
