Bradford Council is progressing speed limit changes on a number of rural roads in the Steeton and Silsden area, as part of a wider commitment to making the district’s roads safer for all users.
The changes, which have been developed in review with West Yorkshire Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), form part of the emerging West Yorkshire Rural Speed Limit Review and support Bradford’s Vision Zero ambition to eliminate preventable road deaths and serious injuries by 2040.
The proposed speed limit changes, associated with the Redcar Lane/Whitley Head traffic calming scheme, are as follows:
- Redcar Lane: reduction from 60mph (national speed limit) to 40mph
- Barrows Lane: reduction from 30mph to 20mph
- Blackhill Lane: reduction from 60mph (national speed limit) to 40mph
- Tarn Lane/Back Lane: reduction from 60mph (national speed limit) to 40mph
The scheme also includes the installation of traffic calming measures through the 20mph section, including physical speed humps and speed cushions, to support compliance with the new lower limits. The proposals have been through a formal public consultation process and are now progressing through the Council’s decision‐making procedures.
Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Regeneration, Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder said:
“These speed limit changes demonstrate Bradford’s proactive approach to addressing road safety on our rural routes. Too often, national speed limits on rural roads are not understood and do not reflect the actual conditions, the presence of residential properties, or the vulnerability of people walking and cycling. By working closely with West Yorkshire Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, we have identified locations where lower speed limits, combined with physical traffic calming, will make a real and measurable difference to community safety.”
The rural speed limit review sits within Bradford’s Vision Zero Bradford (VZB) programme, which takes a Safe System approach to road safety across five pillars: Safe Roads and Roadsides, Safe Speeds, Safe Vehicles, Safe Road Use, and Post‐Crash Care. The programme encompasses multiple projects and is guided by 17 Safety Performance Indicators designed to track progress towards the 2040 elimination target.
The West Yorkshire Rural Speed Limit Review, provides the strategic framework for assessing and revising speed limits on rural roads across the region. The Redcar Lane/Whitley Head scheme represents one of the first practical outcomes of this collaborative approach.
The Council continues to receive requests for further rural speed limit reductions. Each is assessed against the criteria set out in the Department for Transport’s guidance on Setting Local Speed Limits, and those meeting the required thresholds are added to the programme for progression as funding permits.
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