New 20mph speed limit signs will start going up in residential streets across Douglas and Onchan from next week.

A Department of Infrastructure traffic order bringing in the default 20mph limit in the east of the island will take effect from Monday (January 19).

The new speed limit will only come into force once the signs are installed.

This means that the limits will take effect on a road by road basis.

The signs are being installed by contactors for the DoI and it’s not yet certain the order in which the roads will be become 20mph.

A DoI road map shows a sea of red indicating the new 20mph limits.

The decision to implement 20mph limits follows a unanimous Tynwald motion in October 2020 supporting a reduction in speed limits in urban areas. This was reaffirmed in 2023.

A six-week public consultation on the roll-out plans for the east of the island closed on July 4 last year.

Some 558 people or households submitted views.

As a result, four of the original proposals were amended.

Groves Road, Douglas, was initially scheduled to be moved from a 30mph zone to a 20mph zone. However, this will now remain a 30mph zone.

Victoria Road, Douglas (from Glencrutchery Road to Victoria Crescent) was also originally proposed to go to 20mph, but will continue as a 30mph zone.

And Tromode Road, Douglas, again originally proposed for 20mph, will stay as a 30mph zone.

But Whitebridge Road (from Windermere Drive to Main Road), Onchan, which was due to continue as a 30mph zone has now been changed to 20mph.

The east was the first area to be consulted about the controversial 20mph roll-out. It was followed by the north and central, and then the public consultation for roads in the south of the island took place between November 3 and December 22.

Traffic orders for the rest of the island will be published in the coming months.

The proposed 20mph speed limit aims to improve road safety, support healthier lifestyles by making walking and cycling safer and more appealing, encourage considerate driving, reduce noise and air pollution and facilitate people-friendly streets.

The whole project, which will include roads elsewhere in the island, is expected to cost £400,000.