The phased rollout of 20mph speed limits across Glasgow begins next month. The move aims to cut collisions, reduce injury severity and help create calmer, safer streets – especially for people who walk, wheel and cycle.
Govan will be the first city neighbourhood to see the change. A legal order coming into force on 4 June 2026 will enable speed limits to be reduced from 30mph to 20mph on 194 streets or street sections in the area.
Installation of new signs and road markings will then follow over a four-week period. The new 20mph speed limits will apply once the signage is in place.
In total, around 3,800 streets or street sections across Glasgow will move to a lower 20mph speed limit as part of a wider rollout, making this one of the largest road safety programmes delivered in the city. There will be no change to roads with a current speed limit of 40mph or above.
Glasgow’s 20mph rollout follows a detailed assessment of the city’s road network and supports national strategy on safer speeds in built‑up areas.
Citywide delivery of the programme will be carried out across six phases, with prioritisation based on collision data – particularly incidents involving people who walk and cycle.
After Govan, the rollout will progress through the adjacent wards of Southside Central, Calton, East Centre and Shettleston to complete delivery of Phase 1. Work in these areas will begin once Govan is delivered and reviewed, ensuring early learning informs the wider rollout.
Cllr Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport and Climate welcomed the start of the 20mph rollout, calling it an important step towards creating safer, calmer streets across Glasgow.
“Introducing safer speed limits is part of a wider effort to reduce the number and severity of road casualties – with lower speeds leading to calmer, safer and more liveable streets.
“We’ve already seen how effective this can be. Since Edinburgh brought in its default 20mph limit in 2018, collisions dropped by 30%, while default 20mph limits on residential streets are shown to have minimal impacts on overall journey times. Now as part of the ongoing national rollout of these default speed limits, we hope and expect that Glasgow will see similar progress.”
The timetable for completing the remainder of Phase 1, as well as Phases 2 to 6 will be confirmed once all technical design work is finalised. This includes assessing signage requirements on every street moving to 20mph, and planning the traffic management.
New 20mph speed limits in Glasgow are being introduced using Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders, which remain in place for up to 18 months.
(Picture: Glasgow City Council)
