BRADFORD Council is to consider cutting the speed limit on the vast majority of the roads in Bradford city centre.

If it goes ahead, apart from a few exceptions a blanket 20mph zone will cover city centre streets within the inner ring road, plus routes near Bradford College and the university. Similar speed restrictions could be introduced outside many of the city’s schools.

Officials say the changes will protect vulnerable road users, including children, pedestrians and cyclists, by reducing average speeds.

But will a blanket speed reduction work, especially when so many drivers already blatantly flout the current 30mph limit?

West Yorkshire Police’s roads policing unit is already overstretched. Slashing the speed limit by a third, putting up new signs and relying on enforcement to ensure strict compliance is not the answer.

It didn’t work when Bradford introduced Britain’s first car-sharing motorway lane between the M606 and the M62 and it won’t work with a 20mph zone.

A speed limit reduction in conjunction with traffic calming measures would be more effective – but filling the city centre with speed humps and artificial pinch points will lead to further congestion and only add to motorists’ frustrations.

Last year Manchester halted a similar 20mph roll-out after finding it made almost no difference to average speeds or accidents.

We think a targeted approach would be more effective. Fewer, but better, schemes would have a more meaningful impact on the quality of life for residents.