RESIDENTS in Broughton have finally had their prayers for a 20mph speed limit answered after long-running issues in the area.

The moves comes after residents have been plagued with incidents of dangerous riving and overtaking in the town-centre.

Resident and county councillor for the area Matt Brereton said: “The community has long been calling for a reduction in speed limits through Broughton to 20mph, which thanks to a long-running consultation and the hard work of local campaigners is finally being introduced in just a few weeks’ time.

“While local people are still understandably concerned about how the new 20mph limit and associated traffic calming measures in all routes in and out of Broughton will work, and how effectively or otherwise they will be enforced, this is just one step along the way to achieving safer speeds in Broughton.”

The county highways team are continuing to monitor speeds and traffic volumes around the implementation of the new limits, to see how they are working and if further measures are needed.

An area of concern Cllr Brereton has been highlighting to highways from the outset is Station Road, as he believes it might be used by some anti-social drivers determined to get ahead of other road users.

“There is no easy fix for this though a few options have been suggested and we will have to see how the new measures bed in before taking any next steps,” cllr Brereton continued. “Some of the other options people have talked about such as traffic lights, pelican crossings, or extending the 30mph limit all the way from one junction of the A595 to the other were just not possible at this stage.

“They would not have been cost-effective and were not guaranteed to deliver results.

“Likewise speed bumps - Broughton did at one time have these on Church Street, but they were removed after nearby residents complained of increased noise, pollution and vibrations in their homes. They were also singularly ineffective at curbing speeds, as drivers often just drove even faster once clear of the humps.

“We will continue to work with the community to address this issue. I will continue to press Cumbria Police to station at least one full-time officer in Broughton, as a visible police presence in the heart of our community and always on the look-out for this type of behaviour is most likely to deter those who still try to kid themselves they can continue to travel through Broughton at the new lower speed limits and still get ahead of traffic on the A595.”