NEWPORT City Council has insisted the Welsh Government's 20mph project has had “no impact” on its ability to implement speed management schemes on dangerous roads.

Newport council was allocated £625,000 to prepare for the 20mph default speed limit which came into effect on Sunday, September 17.

At the same time, the volume of requests for traffic calming measures such as speed cushions and road signage in Newport neighbourhoods “far outstrips” the funding to implement them, according to council correspondence published by the Argus.

As such, the council is only considering measures where serious injuries or casualties have occurred as a result of excessive speed.

Shaftesbury resident Tony Lawrence has faced an uphill battle to bring further enforcement to the residential Albany Street, where some vehicles hit motorway speeds, residents claim, after being told there were no personal injury collisions on the road in the last three years.

Welsh road safety collaboration GoSafe agreed to set up a local Community Speedwatch scheme last month.

South Wales Argus:

A Freedom of Information request shows the council is receiving fewer appeals for traffic management in 2023 – fewer than 20 per month between January and August, for the lowest annual frequency since records began in 2019.

A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: “The council has funding in its budget to implement speed management requests, however the number of requests we receive is greater than the funding we have available, so we are not able to implement every request.

“Any work to implement the new 20mph default speed limit is being centrally funded by Welsh government and has had no impact on our budget to implement speed management requests.”

South Wales Argus: Police officers stopping cars in 20mph zone

The Argus has asked the council to identify the last time such a request was implemented.

The Welsh Government has handed councils £34.5 million for the implementation of 20mph over the last three financial years, including £215,000 for three border authorities in England.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Assisting local authorities to implement the changes required prior to the 20mph legislation coming into force has been a priority.”