By George Lythgoe

One of Manchester's busiest roads will start to see its speed cut down to 30mph over the next few weeks – which has sparked confusion.

The Kingsway/A34 runs along the border of Manchester and Stockport and currently has a speed limit of 40mph. This is now being reduced to 30mph under Manchester City Council's latest road safety strategy plans to cut speed limits across the city after a surge in crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists.

The 30mph zone will run from Mosley Road to a point 83 metres north of the Manchester/Stockport boundary.

This has come as a shock to many locally, despite the plans being on the cards for over a year. Signage popping up along the route in recent days has stirred up confusion on local social media groups.

Many are unsure when the new speed limit will come into effect and worried they could have a speeding ticket coming in the post.

One commenter on the A555 Facebook group said: "I'm now worried I've been caught previous days going to work as there have been no warning signs of it coming into effect at all."

Martin commented: "They did princess parkway a few years back. More nonsense speed limits on major routes."

(Image - Google Maps)

Another local on the Burnage-What's the gossip page reacted with angry emojis, saying: "Kingsway new speed limit 30mph effective from 23 July."

One person added: "I'm hoping it will calm the speeding down but I doubt it. We could do with a few more speed cameras."

The local authority has not confirmed a specific date for the change, but said this is a phased rollout as work takes place over the next few weeks. They have advised motorists using the Kingsway to follow the speed limit signposted.

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported on this issue, the reaction was mixed. Some felt this move could impact the local economy.

"Slow traffic helps create queues and gridlock which causes problems for workers and issues for businesses, which then invest elsewhere," said a commenter. "It feels like an over reaction by out of touch councillors."

Many were positive about the changes. One reader commented: "The driving on A34 Kingsway has been too crazy for too long. I hope the council will install speed cameras too."

Another said: "I am fine with this, it will reduce casualties which is especially important given how busy A&Es are.

"Whatever you think about cyclists, motor vehicles are faster and heavier and cause more injuries and deaths."

(Image - Wikimedia Commons / public domain)

This road is one of the last out of the eight main roads in Manchester planned for a speed limit reduction. Work began last summer to slow motorists down on the routes, with new signage implemented in some locations, with just Kingsway left to change.

The eight roads affected by the plans are:

• World Way – installation complete 
• Middleton Road – installation complete 
• Moseley Road – from Wilmslow Road to Kingsway – installation complete 
• Wilbraham Road – Wilbraham Road from Princess Road to Wilmslow Road – installation complete
• Greengate – from Victoria Avenue East to its boundary with Oldham (North of M60 bridge) – installation complete
• Styal Road – Simonsway southwards to the Stockport boundary, approx. 100m south of the A555 Manchester Airport Relief Road – installation complete
• Kingsway - Mosley Road to a point 83m north of the Manchester/ Stockport Boundary – installation expected by late July/early August
• Mancunian Way – Downing Street to Fairfield Street. This site is paused until the 50mph section is approved and both sections will be implemented together

Cllr Tracey Rawlins, executive member for clean air, environment and transport, said: "Over the past 12 months work has been underway to reduce the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph on eight key roads throughout the city. 

"This has been done as part of our Active Travel Strategy which drew a clear conclusion that higher speeds on our roads result in a greater number of incidents and casualties, as well as worse air quality and pollution, as well as contributing to congestion, rather than alleviating it.

"We know that slower speeds mean greater safety and that is ultimately what we want to achieve with this strategy. One incident on the roads is one too many and as a council we want to explore every opportunity that will make our roads safer."

The council has confirmed the move after figures for people being killed and seriously injured while walking or cycling in Manchester have shot up since the pandemic. In 2019, 58 pedestrians were involved in a road collision, as were 18 cyclists.

In 2023, 77 pedestrians were involved in an accident — but the number of cyclists more than doubled to 41.