A PETITION against changing the speed limit on Wales' residential roads to 20mph is gathering more and more signatures following the Senedd vote.

On Tuesday, July 12, members voted 39 to 15 to approve the Welsh Government's bid to roll out the law on all residential roads.

That means Wales is set to become the first country in the UK to introduce a default 20mph limit as of September 2023.

But, the plans have faced great opposition, particularly after it was first piloted in the Buckley area and other parts of Wales earlier this year.

And now a petition, launched in March of this year when that pilot began, is once again gathering plenty of signatures following the vote in the Senedd.

READ MORE: 'Time to buy a bike' - Readers react as 20mph speed limit set to be introduced in Wales

Flintshire was one of eight areas across Wales selected for a government trial which reduced speed limits from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads.

As a result, all unclassified roads (30mph) within Buckley, Mynydd Isa, Bryn-y-Baal and New Brighton became 20mph zones.

That sparked backlash from residents who claimed it was doing 'more harm than good' and the petition was born.

Set up by Adie Drury, it now has 18,506 signatures (correct at time of writing on Thursday, July 14).

It needs 25,000 before it becomes one of the top signed ones on Change.org, the site it has been set up on.

In a statement on the page, petition founder Adie says: "It is causing chaos, people avoiding the area and people having to take new routes. Many of these roads aren't suitable for a 20mph speed limit.

North Wales Pioneer:

PIC: The petition was initially set up following the pilot scheme in the Buckley area.

"They are busy access roads on steep hills. The lorries are struggling to get up the hills in such a low gear and sticking to such a low speed downhill is hard on the brakes. This is doing nothing to reduce emissions, instead there will be more pollution from more cars struggling in a lower gear for a longer time. 

"There have not been high occurrence rates of road traffic accidents, deaths or injuries on roads in and around Buckley that require a change to our regular 30mph limit on these roads.

"It’s entirely unjustified and was not supported by the community making it a non-democratic change.  The community already support the 20mph zones outside schools and other significant areas and would fully support keeping these in place."

Many Flintshire residents, Adie included, have been left frustrated by the fact that no consultations were held with members of the public ahead of a final vote on the change.

It is expected however that local authorities will be given the final say on whether or not changing to a 20mph speed limit will be beneficial for roads in their area.

Adie added: "It really is a whitewash and not what people were consulted on. This is your warning Wales, this scheme is coming for you too."

Minister for Climate Change, Julie James said the order is set to come into force on September 17, 2023.

She added: "The evidence shows us that moving to a national 20mph speed limit for restricted roads would make them safer, save lives and encourage more of us to walk and cycle. 

"This is not a blanket 20mph change and we are working with local authorities to identify potential roads that speed limits will be reduced to 20mph and those that should remain at 30mph."