Thursday August 28th 2025
St Margaret's Academy, Livingston
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Councillors have welcomed proposals which will see 20mph become the standard in residential roads in the new town.
The move will probably have the least noticeable effect in a community largely planned in the 1960s, and having the most up to date road network.
Councillor Maria MacAulay told a meeting of Livingston South Local Area Committee that the national scheme to cut roads deaths and injuries is “a positive thing.”
Roads Network Manager Gordon Brown told the meeting: “Most residential roads in West Lothian currently have advisory 20mph speed limits in place and these will be changed to mandatory 20mph speed limits.
“The link roads in Livingston will generally remain at their current speed limits. The design of the road network means there is reduced pedestrian traffic on these roads and they provide strategic public transport corridors.
“By maintaining the existing speed limit on these roads, the impact on journey times should be minimal. The exception to this is where link roads pass close to schools or shopping areas.
“The remaining roads with 40mph, 50mph and rural speed limits have not been part of this review and the speed limits on these roads will not change.”
Councillor MacAulay welcomed the move to cut speeds around at Margaret’s Academy.
Livingston is in the first tier of the move to introduce the new 20mph zones demanded as part of a national programme from the Scottish Government.
In February the Council Executive approved the national 20mph speed limit strategy in appropriate urban areas. Research shows that pedestrians have a 90% chance of surviving a collision at 20mph compared to only 20% when being hit by a car travelling at 40mph.
The majority of residential streets in the county are already 20mph “advisory” routes. The council will introduce a Temporary Traffic Restriction Order (TTRO) in a few weeks which will make the advisory mandatory for 18 months.
At the same time an online survey will be introduced on the council’s website seeking feedback on the changes. Roads officers will use this feedback to modify the new rules before they become permanent by the Autumn of 2027 for the first tier of changes.
Two more tiers will follow with the last being on rural roads and village centres. Changes on these routes are unlikely to be introduced until around 2027.
The programme is fully funded by Holyrood. On roads where additional calming measures such as speed humps are needed to further slow traffic the council will be able to apply for Scottish Government funding to meet these costs.
Police Scotland supports the 20mph speed limit strategy and will also be consulted during the design phase (and through the statutory process) as the implementation of the 20mph speed limit strategy is progressed.
Mr Brown added: “The council will have no responsibility for the enforcement of these new 20 mph speed limits”.
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