NEW 20mph speed limits will be rolled out across Bradford City Centre next month.

Most roads in the city centre will have the reduced speed limit from September 2, in a move that has been welcomed by a road safety charity.

The policy was approved by Bradford Council bosses earlier this year, who said it would support the regeneration of the city centre by making it a safer place to walk and cycle.

The roll out is expected to cost £120,000.

Main roads including Manchester Road, Leeds Road and Hall Ings would be excluded from the plans.

A public consultation on the proposals took place last year, and when the proposals were first approved highways officers said the Council’ “hadn’t received a huge amount of feedback.”

The Council says the zones will protect vulnerable road users including children, pedestrians and cyclists by improving road safety at key locations of the district.

All new housing developments to have 'default' 20mph speed limit

It is hoped the scheme will also encourage more people to take up walking and cycling.

The new zones will cover Bradford city centre within the inner ring road extending to include Bradford College and University campuses.

A similar programme of 20 mph zones around schools was rolled out earlier this year.

A significant number of streets around these schools were included in order to improve safety for pupils on their journeys to and from school.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “Twenty mile per hour zones are a proven way of making our roads safer and our proposed city centre zone will help make it a safer and more attractive place for pedestrians and cyclists as well as making it generally more inviting to live, work and visit.

“By rolling out a programme of 20mph zones around schools and nearby streets we can really make a difference in protecting children from the dangers of speeding and promote responsible driving and road safety across the district.”

Joshua Harris, is Director of Campaigns for road safety charity BRAKE. In response to the new zones he said: “We absolutely welcome the rollout of these 20mph zones which will be a huge boost to road safety in Bradford.

“Slower speeds save lives and also make our streets more liveable environments, encouraging people to walk and cycle safely and confidently in their local area.

“Twenty miles per hour limits where people work, live and play are widely accepted as the safest option, with stopping distances at 20mph half those at 30mph.

“We all want to be able to move around in safe and healthy ways and reducing vehicle speeds is a simple, but effective, way of achieving this.”

Nick Lloyd, Acting Head of Road Safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “The higher the speed, the greater the forces involved in a collision. Twenty miles per hour zones are an important safety feature in residential areas, near schools and where there is a high frequency of vulnerable road users.

“RoSPA supports the introduction of such schemes as they have been shown to reduce road injuries whilst encouraging more walking and cycling.”