BRADFORD Council has announced an expansion of 20mph zones across the district covering areas of Bradford, Shipley, Keighley and Ilkley.

It says it will be the largest roll-out of the zones in Bradford’s history and will see £150,000 invested in measures to support air quality and improve road safety as part of its Safer Roads programme.

The 20mph zones are designed to support the air quality agenda because they create a better environment for walking and cycling with people feeling safer. There is also evidence that slower speeds mean there are air quality improvements as cars accelerate and decelerate more smoothly.

The programme, announced yesterday on Clean Air Day, has been designed with an evidence-led approach that deals with the most vulnerable sections of the community first.

The City Centre 20mph zone announced at the end of 2018 will go live in August.

Speed limits will be introduced on many city centre roads in August, although not main roads like Manchester Road or Hall Ings.

The first phase of the School 20s programme is also being put in place, aligned with the district-wide No Idling Zone campaign due to be launched in September 2019.

Two 20mph zones will be introduced outside of the city centre around the Park Lane and Farnham Road areas, both of which include primary schools and community centres.

A report on the scheme revealed that in five years, city centre roads had seen a total of 205 road casualties of which 72 were pedestrians and 17 were cyclists.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport for Bradford Council said: “The 20mph zones are an important part of improving the lives of everyone in the district, particularly young people.

“We’ve looked into the areas that most need action taken to reduce accidents and injuries to the public. With the city centre zone starting in a couple of months this is the largest ever roll out of 20mph zones in Bradford district we’ve done.

“It is important we continue to look at how we can further improve our roads to make a real impact on the health of people in the district, not just for Clean Air Day, but for every day after that.”

Building on the £1m Healthy Streets project in Shipley town centre, the proposed 20pmh zone will cover the area from the A650 from The Branch Pub site along the Otley Road A6038 to the A657 Fox Corner junction and back up Saltaire Road to the A650.

The area includes dozens of roads, including those around the Asda store and Shipley swimming pool.

Low-speed zones are already in place in much of Saltaire and on the west side of the A650.

The Council is currently considering the best options for creating a 20mph zone in Ilkley town centre following the Ilkley Parking Review.

The proposals for Keighley are for 20mph zones that would encompass school sites at St Joseph’s, University Academy, Al Hikmah, St Anne’s and The Holy Family. The zone also includes the Cliffe Castle access and covers 16 streets.

There are also proposals covering Barkerend Road where there are a number of schools sites in close proximity as well as the CityConnect 1 cycleway. Due to the traffic conditions on Barkerend Road traffic calming measures will also be considered for this road to help ensure compliance with a 20mph limit.