A review into speed limits along trunk roads such as the A487 and A44 is currently underway.

The speed limits on these roads, along with maintenance, is controlled centrally by the Welsh Government and not local authorities.

17 September will mark two years since 20mph speed limits were introduced across Wales in a bid to save lives and improve health.

Questions have been raised over the inconsistency of the 20mph speed limit through villages and towns across mid Wales.

Bow Street is 20mph throughout the length of the village, leading to the village being dubbed ‘Slow Street’ but on the other side of Aberystwyth, Llanfarian remains 30mph.

North of Bow Street, the villages of Eglwysfach and Furnace have a 40mph speed limit, with residents campaigning for 50 years to have to speed reduced.

In June, Ceredigion County Council announced that no changes to 20mph speed limits were being made on roads it controls.

However the A487 coast road and A44 from Aberystwyth heading east are out of the local authority’s control.

Asked by the Cambrian News on when a review of trunk road speed limits is expected, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates said: “The review of 20 and 30 mph speed limits on the trunk road network is currently underway.

“A list of the trunk roads where a change in the speed limit is proposed will be published later this year once the review has been completed.”

Explaining its reasons for not reducing speed limits on roads it does control, Ceredigion County Council said it held a ‘listening phase’ between May to September 2024 and received 62 individual comments, of these 23 expressed support for the new 20mph limits, 20 expressed desires for a change to the national policy, 16 objected to existing 20mph limits on county roads, eight referred directly to Welsh Government-managed Trunk Road locations, over which the council has no jurisdiction, and three were deemed out of scope.

Ceredigion County Council reviewed 34 sections of road closely in line with the revised guidance from the Welsh Government, which strongly emphasises providing a safer environment for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The outcome of the review is that no further changes were identified, and the 20mph limits introduced on County Roads within Ceredigion in 2023 should remain."

Councillor Shelley Childs, Ceredigion's Cabinet Member responsible for Highways and Environmental, added: "The review was an opportunity to assess how closely the guidance from the Welsh Government was applied on county roads in Ceredigion. Collision data recently released by the police and the Welsh Government suggests that the national change to the speed limit does seem to be reducing casualties on roads across Wales, and correspondence received during the review process suggests that the new 20mph limits are welcomed by many in the county. Although, the Council’s review did not include any speed limit arrangements on the A487 and A44 Trunk Roads in Ceredigion since those are the direct responsibility of the Welsh Government."