20mph limits for North East Fife towns and villages

Arial view of Pittenweem taken from the sea showing the harbour and village. It's a bright day with a band of cloud showing in the left hand, upper corner of the picture.

Speed limits to reduce in North East Fife towns and villages

Fife Council will begin work to reduce the speed limits on a number of roads in North East Fife, following decisions taken at NE Fife Area Committee today.

  • 20mph speed limits will be introduced on Main Street and Station Road, in Dairsie, with the introduction of appropriate 40mph speed limits on the A91 approaches.
  • In Newport 20mph speed limits will be introduced on Cupar Road and Kirk Road.
  • In the East Neuk, 20mph speed limits will be introduced on the A917 through Elie, Pittenweem, Anstruther and Cellardyke, along with the B913, St Andrews Road, at Anstruther.
  • Appropriate 40mph speed limits on the A917 approaches to Elie will also be put in place.

The proposed introduction of the 20mph speed limits comes as a result of requests from the local communities and the new Scottish Government initiative to reduce speed limits on all appropriate urban roads by the end of 2025. Reducing the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph in urban areas can have a significant impact on road safety.

Cllr. Jonny Tepp, North East Fife  Area Committee Convenor, said: “The introduction of these 20mph speed limits in our towns and villages is the best way to improve road safety and reduce the number of casualties on our roads. The evidence is clear that a pedestrian hit at 20mph is less likely to be seriously or fatally injured than if hit at 30mph. We want to make our towns and villages safer for everyone, especially our children and older or more vulnerable adults. Reducing the limits ensures that drivers have more time to respond to unexpected events and significantly reduces the risk of fatal accidents."

In addition to the speed restrictions a limited waiting parking restriction will be put in place at High Street, Elie. This comes at the request of the local Elie and Earlsferry community council.  There will now be a limited waiting parking restriction for the parking bays outside the shops at numbers 42-50 High Street from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Limited time 1 hour, with no return within 1 hour. This should allow easier access to the shops and businesses for customers.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) for these proposals will now be promoted and confirmed within a reasonable period unless there are objections.