Wrexham Conservative Candidate In Favour Of Consulting on A483 Speed Limit Increase

A review of the speed limits on the A55 could be consulted on under new plans unveiled by the Welsh Conservatives – with plans to increase the current speed limit from 70mph to 80mph.

Last week the Welsh Conservatives announced that if elected into power in the Assembly next month, they will consult on increasing the speed limit on the A55 and M4 to 80mph.

The Welsh Conservatives say that increasing the speed limit on North and South Wales’ busiest roads “Would not only cut down on commuting times, thereby improving quality of life, but would serve to ease the journey of cars and vans carrying goods and services who rely on these crucial transport corridors to reach a number of different destinations throughout the day.

“A Welsh Conservative government would ensure that if the consultation found that a pilot was successful in terms of safety, practicality and driver acceptance; strict enforcement measures would be imposed to ensure that drivers would not exceed the speed limit.”

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew Davies, said: “The M4 and A55 are vital arteries in the Welsh economy with thousands of commuters relying on their use every day.

“Welsh Conservatives believe that raising the speed limit from 70mph to 80mph could play a vital role in getting our economy moving and offering invaluable support to hard-pressed motorists, commuters and businesses.

“Consultation would be key – ensuring the views of all stakeholders are considered, so any change on the M4 and A55 is delivered with safety paramount.”

Andrew Atkinson, Welsh Conservative candidate for Wrexham told us he would be in favour of a consultation over raising the limit to 80mph on the A483 ‘subject to the previously mentioned caveats’.

Mr Atkinson told us: “I think the proposals are worth looking into and exploring, it’s something that’s been mentioned to me a few times so I’m all up for a consultation but it has to be part of a lot of other infrastructure improvements.

“Frankly you can set the speed limit to anything you like on the A55 or A483 but it is meaningless if you can only do 20mph in traffic queues.

“I think this is worth looking at and putting out to consultation but my main focus is getting our roads sorted out and serious improvements made.”

“Improvements to roads and the design of cars means that the current 70mph speed limit on the A55 could now be obsolete – motorists should be allowed to drive faster, if a consultation finds it safe and feasible.”

“Such a decision would bring us in line with the continent, where most major roads have an 81mph speed limit.”