Highland Council’s 20mph speed limits plan set for decision day as most people oppose it but officials claim supporters don’t send in feedback
Temporary 20mph limits which hit roads across built up areas throughout the Highlands could become permanent if councillors give a traffic road order (TRO) the green light this week.
However the majority of people providing feedback during a consultation want them to slam on the brakes and reverse the scheme.
Just over 50 per cent of respondents told Highland Council they were against keeping the speed limits, which were introduced in 2023, while 43 per cent supported the move and the rest were classed as ‘representation’.
The Scottish Government wants to reduce speed limits in built-up areas to cut the chances of collisions.
As so-called early adopters, all costs of the roll out by the council will be fully funded by Transport Scotland.
But despite this being effectively cost free for the council, not everyone is convinced that the 20mph limits have been introduced in the best or most appropriate places
There were a total of 302 responses received of which 153 are against the proposals. The most popular reasons for objecting included: 20mph limits outside schools are enough; it hasn't proven effective; waste of money; emissions; and fuel efficiency. They added that there are very few, if any, collisions currently; 20mph is too slow and modern cars stop well so are safe; and it is not environmentally friendly.
On the other hand, 130 support statements were received, with the most frequent reasons given include that it is safer for pedestrians/wheelers, cycling and children. They also believe that it would reduce road traffic collisions and generally “improves safety” while others highlighted noise reduction from vehicles.
But council officials are not minded to pay attention to the objections because so few responded to the consultation and because “few people who are supportive of orders engage in the consultation process”.
Road safety manager Lisa MacKellaich said: “The National Records of Scotland shows the Highland population in 2023 to be 236,330. This equates to 0.13 per cent of the Highland population formally responding to the 20mph TRO consultation.
“It is worth highlighting that this level of support is very unusual for traffic regulation order statutory consultations. Experience shows that typically very few people who are supportive of orders engage in the consultation process.”
However, the six-week public engagement survey was much more successful and got 11,287 visits, with a total of 5300 unique respondents recorded.
That information was “analysed and taken into consideration during the further consultation and decision-making process”.
Both the statutory consultation which ended earlier this year and the survey resulted in some significant changes being made to the overall implementation of the limit.
The total road length of the 20mph zones stood at 606.9km but input from the public saw 12.8km removed and 5.9km added resulting in the extent of the 20mph coverage now standing at 600km.
One of those who spoke out against the move early on is Skye councillor Ruraidh Stewart - who is currently running to represent Inverness and Nairn at Holyrood.
Last year, he called on the council to listen to the public, look at the experience of Wales and abandon what he said “is shameful”. “This nonsense has been overwhelmingly rejected by the people of Highland, whom this council purports to serve,” he added.
Responding to that at the time, Councillor Ken Gowans, the chairman of the economy and infrastructure committee -which will discuss the scheme on Thursday - defended the project.
He said it had been developed “in the interests of road safety, and widely welcomed within housing developments and built-up areas”, adding: "A very robust consultation has been undertaken to gather as many views as possible, especially targeting local residents who, after all, know their areas best.”
