The A77 through Maybole will be a 20mph speed limit
A new 20mph speed zone on the A77 through an Ayrshire town is the first time such a limit has been permanently imposed on a trunk road in Scotland.
The Maybole scheme is part of a road safety pilot project which will eventually include four other towns and villages around the country.
It is hoped Largs, Biggar, Langholm and Oban will follow in the coming months.
Permanent 20mph zones have until now only been imposed on smaller, local authority roads.
There are a number of part-time 20mph zones near schools on Scotland's trunk road network but Maybole, on the main A77 main from Glasgow to Stranraer, will be the first to adopt the speed limit at all times.
The measure is intended to reduce the number of accidents and specifically those which involve the elderly and cyclists.
Maybole has a very narrow main street
The areas were picked to try out the lower speed limit after analysis of how busy the roads were, the amount of heavy lorries using the routes and the number of accidents.
Maybole has a very busy, narrow main street, and a proposed bypass is currently going through the planning process.
Stewart Leggett, Transport Scotland's national operations manager, said: "Safety is a priority for Transport Scotland and managing speed is an important part of our strategy.
"It is essential speed limits are appropriate to conditions and these pilot zones will help us establish the benefits of lowering speeds in towns villages, where it is reasonable to do so.
"This is the first of the five pilot sites which we expect to improve road safety generally while bringing specific benefits for vulnerable road users, such as older people and cyclists.
"We are pleased that the wider consultation process is now complete in Maybole and will now monitor the benefits it brings to the trunk road network."
The pilot scheme is to last three years.
