A MAYOR has called for the speed limit outside schools in his town to be slashed to 20mph.
Ruthin town councillor and mayor Emrys Wynne says introducing the limit will make the roads much safer.
“My wish is to see 20mph signs set up in Ruthin, initially outside schools and then in other areas too,” he told members of Ruthin Town Council.
“If you look at the Welsh Government website, transport minister Carl Sargeant is very keen for this to happen as a way to decrease accidents.
“A study shows that 40 per cent less accidents happen when speed limits are decreased to 20mph.
“I’m asking for the town council to support this.”
Cllr Wynne said he thinks the town council should lobby Denbighshire County Council to introduce the lower speed limits between the hours of 7.30am and 9.30am and between 3pm and 5pm.
He wants the limits to be put in place on Denbigh Road between Park Place Hotel and Dyffryn Filling Station, between Pen-y-Garth, St Meugans and the junction of Llanrhydd Road with the A525.
Also on his list for 20mph is between the junction of Rhos Street with the A525 and the A494 and between the Haulfryn entrance on the A494 at Wern Isa to Hengwrt on Mold Road A494.
Fellow councillor Simeon Jones suggested they ask parents in the area to support the campaign.
“I think this is something that lots of people would be in favour of,” he said.
“For example you could do with 20mph on the roads off the square, you get boy racers on them.”
Cllr Wynne added: “It’s not going to happen overnight but I think we’ve got to push the boat out now and get things moving on this.”
His calls follow a plea by bereaved mum Jan Dacombe, from Cyffylliog, to have the speed limit in every residential area in the country to be dropped to 20mph.
Jan, who began working as a bereavement councillor after her three-month-old son James died in 1991 from heart problems at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, has worked with dozens of families whose children have been killed in road accidents.
“I think we need 20 mile-per-hour limits not just locally in towns like Ruthin but nationally in all residential areas,” she told the Free Press last year.
“If you hit a child driving at 30 miles per hour they are likely to die but at 20 miles per hour they have much more chance of recovery.”
A spokeswoman for Denbighshire County Council said: “Under our Speed Management Outside Schools initiative we produced a prioritised list of works to reduce speeds outside the county's schools.
“This has seen the implementation of a range of safety measures outside 23 of the county's schools over the past four years. This list is now being reviewed and further proposals for safety measures outside schools are currently being drawn up.
“Schools in Ruthin will naturally be considered as part of this process.”
She added: “20mph zones are one of a number of measures that we consider when developing proposals to improve the safety of the road network. However, it should be noted that unless physical traffic calming measures are introduced as well, then 20 mph zones alone may typically only achieve a 1mph reduction in traffic speeds.”