Perth should become Scotland’s second 20mph city, according to a local councillor.
Peter Barrett made the call for a blanket lower limit after the council’s enterprise and infrastructure committee voted to reduce the limit on streets throughout the Kinnoull area.
The move would bring the Fair City into line with Edinburgh, where earlier this month councillors voted to impose the lower limit on all but a handful of roads.
However, the councillor’s calls have received a mixed response.
While safety charity Brake backed the campaign, the Institute of Advanced Motorists urged caution.
Mr Barrett, who campaigned for the Kinnoull 20mph limit for two years, said: “It has been a particularly hard and uphill struggle to have local residential neighbourhoods designated 20mph zones.
“It is high time that the council adopted a much more proactive and comprehensive approach to safer road speeds such as Edinburgh City Council has recently demonstrated.”
Welcoming the news that Kinnoull would have a reduced speed limit, he said: “This is great news for local residents.
“This will be a major improvement for local residents, children walking to school and people walking to and from Kinnoull Hill and once the 20mph limit is introduced its impact will be monitored closely.”
The new speed restrictions should be introduced by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, road safety charity Brake backed Mr Barratt’s calls for a blanket 20mph limit across Perth.
Philip Goose, senior community engagement officer for the organisation, said: “If Perth and Kinross council took the step to put in place a default 20mph limit in the city, they would be taking one simple step to reduce collisions and casualties, enable residents to live active lifestyles, boost communities and the local economy and reduce pollution.
“With an estimated 13 million people across the UK now living in areas implementing or committed to widespread 20mph limits, we think it’s time for governments in Holyrood and Westminster to adopt 20mph as the default national urban limit, to save councils money and help create safe, active, happy communities nationwide.”
However a spokesman for the Institute of Advanced Motorists said reducing limits across the board did not necessarily make the roads safer.
He said: “The safety benefits of 20mph limits are often overstated.
“We have no problem with 20mph limits in residential areas but problems can emerge if roads are covered that look and feel safe at speeds above 20.
“Drivers get confused and support for the overall approach can be put at risk.
“If there are specific speed-related problems on roads in Perth and Kinross then local engineering measures should be the first option.
“Unfortunately all too often 20mph limits are seen as a relatively cheap method of appearing to address a problem that may never have existed in the first place.”
Perth and Kinross Council said it has no plans to introduce widespread 20mph speed limits across the region.
A spokeswoman said: “We already have a number of 20mph limit areas throughout Perth and Kinross and will consider further ones where they are required.”