All roads in central Bristol will now have a 20mph speed limit, following the success of two pilot schemes.

The scheme is part of Bristol City Council’s 20mph citywide programme, which will see the speed limit rolled across the city. It includes all 30mph roads in Cabot, Cotham, Clifton, Clifton East, Bishopston and Redland wards, with the exception five roads.

Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, said: ‘The new speed limit is part of a number of measures that we are introducing that will help to promote road safety, improve traffic flow, support sustainable transport and active travel and help to make Bristol a more positive place to live and work.

‘The response to the pilot scheme, including the area live, has been extremely positive as has been the reaction of a majority of consultees during the various consultation exercises that have been underway.

’We realise that the change in speed limit will take a little getting used to but I know from my own experience how little impact the reduction in speed will have on journey times. We’ve carried out extensive research looking at popular routes through the city which shows that there will be a 10 second increase to journey times per mile (under one minute per five miles) in the central area. We’ll be monitoring the impact of the scheme once it is live and are looking forward to reporting some positive changes within our local communities in the coming years.’

Research from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) shows that if someone is hit by car at 20mph, there is 2.5% chance of it being fatal. This increases to 20% if the car is travelling at 30mph.

Birmingham City Council, the City of London and Brighton and Hove are all introducing 20mph speed limits.