Safe Speed Forums

Villages set for speed slash

Speed limits in every village in Cumbria could be slashed to 30mph.

Cumbria County Council is set to review current limits on every stretch of A and B roads it controls.

It aims to have the limits in place by 2011, which could cost up to £730,000.

The scheme, prompted by the Department of Transport, is guided by two principles agreed yesterday by the council’s cabinet.

The first is “to achieve a consistency in speed limits both along a route and between routes, so that drivers know what to expect and can understand the need for the limit.”

The second is to “have a 30mph speed limit as the norm in all settlements that qualify as a village.”

Ann Kayani, chairwoman of Foxfield Road Safety Campaigners, praised the move.

Her group has been campaigning for a 30mph limit in the village. The council recently agreed to the move after months of lobbying.

She said: “We welcome it. It’s about time they realise that a lot of these roads are extremely dangerous.

“With the number of accidents we have, it’s getting beyond a joke.”

Pat Humes, of Hempland Avenue, Barrow, has been calling for lower speed limits on the coast road after 16-year-old Grant Huntington and his friends, Joey Pollock and Matthew Salt, both 20, died after a crash on the road in December 2004.

A 50mph limit has been introduced on the Roosebeck stretch of the A5087.

But Mrs Humes thinks the limit should be nearer 40mph. She has welcomed the review and the new 30mph limits.

She said: “I think it’s absolutely brilliant – they should do it on a lot more roads.

“They should have it in the Rampside area – drivers use Peasholmes Lane as if it’s a race track. It’s a cut though from Rampside to the coast road.”

Millom town, borough and county councillor Ray Cole welcomed the move towards lower speed limits but urged caution about lowering them too much.

He said: “Where there is a build up of houses and hazards it’s a sensible approach to have 30mph limits.

“If it saves lives than I’m all for it, because some drivers don’t know when to take their foot off the gas.

“But we shouldn’t drop it to 20mph unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“Each case should be treated on its own merits, but there are some

villages which are crying out for lower limits.”

He cited The Green, on the A5093 near Millom, as an example of a village in need of such a limit.

The county council says other factors to be taken into account in the review process will include the proximity of a main school access, the accident history of a road and the presence of vulnerable road users, as well as environmental and heritage concerns such as landscape designation and historical interest.

Local county council members are set to monitor speed limits in their areas and decide on putting in action changes made by the local committees.

Copeland is set to host a pilot scheme in the new year, when the local committee will decide on recommendations drawn up for the area by special speed limit workshops.

Ian Stewart, Cumbria County Council cabinet member responsible for highways, said: “This is a major undertaking and a welcome opportunity to rationalise speed limits on our roads.

“I’m sure a great many communities around the county will want to see whether the speed limits change in their areas.

“It is a big county and it will take some time to cover all our roads, but we will be working to make sure that we tackle the areas where new speed limits are needed most.

“It seems likely that where speed limits need changing it will generally mean a reduction, but it is worth baring in mind that the review required by the government does not rule out speed limit increases where they would be appropriate, but the final decisions will be made at the local level.”

The county council will be considering C-class and unclassified roads after 2011.

Local county council members are set to monitor speed limits in their areas and decide on putting in action changes made by the local committees.