Welcome to the City of Edinburgh Council's 20mph Zones website. The purpose of this website is to provide information about the Council's 20mph Zones programme.
Edinburgh's Residential Area 20mph Zones - Background
The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to the reduction of accidents on our roads. It is working towards meeting the Scottish Executive's target to halve the number of children killed and seriously injured by the year 2010 and, ultimately, to achieve zero fatalities.
A key element of this Council's Road Safety Plan for 2003-2008 is to continue the introduction of 20mph speed limits in suitable residential areas. This will assist in fulfilling the Council's objective to reduce vehicle speeds which, in turn, will help reduce casualty numbers.
What is a 20mph Zone?
All residential areas, bounded by major public transport corridors and traffic routes in the city, have been considered for the implementation of a 20mph zone.
On all of the roads within these self-contained areas traffic-calming features to encourage drivers to slow down will be introduced. By discouraging through traffic and reducing the general speed of residents' vehicles within the zones, traffic calming features will make our city a safer place.
Why introduce 20mph Zones?
Central Government research indicates that, where 20mph zones (with traffic calming measures) have been introduced, overall accident rates fell by over 50%. It is also the case that, when hit by a vehicle travelling at 40mph, there is a 9 in 10 chance that a pedestrian will be killed; at 35mph the chance is 50/50; at 30mph 1 in 5 pedestrians will be killed, but at 20mph the chance of being killed is 1 in 40.
