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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Owen Evans & Brett Gibbons

Cameras introduced on busy road following speed limit trial will also help fight against pollution

Speed cameras aimed at forcing drivers to slow down and reduce pollution levels have been installed on busy main roads.

Temporary restrictions introduced last year on the roads are set to be made permanent following a trial.

The Welsh Government has installed the cameras along a stretch of the A483 in Wrexham in order to police a speed limit reduction aimed at tackling nitrogen dioxide levels.

Average speed cameras installed in the 50mph emissions zone on the A483 at Wrexham (Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

Cameras are also being introduced on the A494 in Deeside.

The 50mph limits were temporarily introduced on the A483 and A494 in June last year due to the level of pollution breaking legal limits.

It was recently announced that the speed limits would become permanent, and that cameras were being considered on the two roads to police the limit, NorthWalesLive reports.

The cameras have now appeared on the A483 and A494 to curb the number of people breaking the speed limit.

Average speed cameras installed in the 50mph zone on the A483 at Wrexham (Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

Welsh Government Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths recently said she was concerned by the number of people breaking the limit in the area of the restrictions.

She said: "I'm going along at 50 mph and people are overtaking me, I would say, all the time.

"I think one of the areas where I do have concerns...is that people don't understand why they are 50mph sites. So, I think we need signs saying, 'poor air quality kills, reduce your speed.'

"I think we need to make the public aware of why we've brought those 50mph sites in and why we're going to make them permanent."

The limit was introduced in the hope that the restrictions would have a "smoothing" impact on traffic, with vehicles driving at around the same speed of between 40mph and 50mph.

Research has indicated that nitrogen dioxide levels are at their lowest when cars are travelling at this speed, the Welsh Government said.

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