When I first saw this story about Portsmouth City Council introducing a 20mph speed limit to most residential streets, I have to confess that my immediate reaction was that it was a bit silly and would just result in increased CO2 emissions – 20mph isn’t a very fuel-efficient speed for modern vehicles.

However, I soon changed my hastily formed judgement – because having read through Portsmouth Council’s press release, I think it seems quite a good, carefully-planned idea.

Here’s why. I live in an old town too – and on my street and most of the ones around it, anything greater than 20mph is definitely unnecessary and usually unsafe. Portsmouth City Council hasn’t reduced the limits on any of the more major roads – so once you’re out of your street you can progress through the city at the usual 30/40mph limit.

The other reason it seems sensible is that none of the 1,200 streets affected had an average speed above 24mph anyway – so it’s not much of a loss.

If you live in Portsmouth (or anywhere else with 20mph limits), how have you found them? Have they been applied inappropriately and without consultation, or have the local council been intelligent and thoughtful about it? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and experiences.

20mph speed limits are clearly here to stay in the UK, and are getting more popular by the day. Let’s just hope that councils don’t succumb to the temptation to use them in combination with speed cameras to raise tax revenue…