Sampling of vehicle speeds at four locations across the city found that, an astonishing, nine-out-of-ten road users – including the police and emergency services - were flouting the law.
Mayor Ferguson has enthusiastically supported and defended the roll-out of these schemes to cover most of the local road network.
Conversely, Conservative Councillors have been the fiercest critics of this expensive initiative (expanded at a cost of £2.3 million) and who are the only Party to consistently argue that this would prove to be a waste of time and money.
Councillor Lucas, who is the Conservative Mayoral Candidate said: “Well, the proverbial chickens really seem to be coming home to roost on this controversial issue.
“We have always said that such a blanket speed restriction – imposed where this was neither needed nor wanted – would be a costly mistake.
“The money wasted on this traffic management measure is quite colossal.
“From the very beginning, I have questioned the usefulness of most these schemes and still maintain that their roll-out across the city was wrong and unenforceable.
“As this latest study confirms, it seems that most road users agree with me on this point. Amazingly, even Council personnel and the police appear to be ignoring the legal limit.
“I can assure the people of Bristol that one of my first acts in office as their newly elected Mayor will be to repeal most of these zones.
“Speeds may need to be controlled in designated areas where there is a clear demand or recognised risk. However, it seems to me that to blithely carry on as we are doing with the indiscriminate policy is the height of folly, only serves to bring the law into disrepute and exposes the Authority to ridicule.”