A cash-strapped council has been blasted after spending almost £10,000 on children’s colouring books promoting new 20mph speed limits.
Oxfordshire County Council issued colouring packs to more than 85 primary schools across the region in early November.
The colouring packs depict smiling children cycling in a 20mph speed limit zone as a car drives behind them, in addition to a sustainable word search.
They also include stickers with 20mph speed limit signs, with the “a safer pace” slogan, as the council continues to promote its controversial law changes.
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In a written question submitted to Councillor Andrew Gant, the cabinet member for transport management at the county council, announced the total cost of the project.
The Liberal Democrat councillor confirmed that the council spent £8,838 on 20mph packs for key stage 1 and key stage 2 pupils and a further £1,106.40 in postage costs.
Councillor Liam Walker has attacked the new project, saying it was a “waste of taxpayers money” and “completely ludicrous”.
The Conservative Councillor for Hanborough and Minster Lovell called on Oxfordshire County Council to focus on their jobs and fix potholes in the area.
He described it as a “waste of taxpayers money” and that the coalition should “stop focusing on getting their crayons out”.
Walker, who has been a councillor since 2017, added: “It’s baffling that the coalition at the council believes spending nearly £10,000 on colouring books is a wise use of taxpayers’ money.”
There are believed to be a total of 234 speed limit changes planned for the county which have already been introduced or will be launched in the near future.
The council is aiming to slash the number of road traffic accidents in the area, as well as reducing congestion and improving air quality.
In February 2022, a total of £8million was allocated to change road speed across the county over the next three years.
Councillor Walker claimed that an additional £150,000 was spent on advertising the new speed limits on petrol pumps and through social media campaigns.
This comes amid a wave of new speed limits being introduced across Wales with almost all restricted roads in residential areas seeing the limit drop to 20mph.
Drivers across the country have protested against the new law changes including marches in major cities, with some motorists going as far as spray painting and cutting down the new speed limit signs.
It is believed that drivers could be prosecuted for breaking the rules of the new scheme from December 17, marking three months since the rules were introduced.
The road safety organisation GoSafe said it would apply the National Police Chiefs’ Council guidelines which outline the enforcement thresholds of “not less than 10 per cent plus 2mph”, meaning that drivers could be prosecuted if they drive at 26mph.
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Wales introduced the new speed limit changes in September
PA
A petition launched to protest the introduction of the new speed limits broke records on the Senedd website, attracting more than 466,000 signatures calling on the Government to “rescind and remove the disastrous 20mph law”.
It is understood that the Welsh Government will consider this for a debate next March when the petition comes to an end.
