20mph speed limits proposed in Barrow
There'll be a meeting on the limits on 14th January
New 20mph speed limits could be coming to several areas of Barrow.
Members of Westmorland and Furness Council’s Furness Locality Board are being recommended to consider the representations made during a statutory consultation and for the programme to be ‘brought into operation as advertised’.
The areas are listed as:
- Hawcoat and Newbarns ward – roads around Dane Ghyll Primary School, Newbarns Primary School, St Pauls Junior School and Victoria Infants School.
- Old Barrow and Hindpool ward – roads around Ramsden Infants School.
- Risedale and Roosecote ward – roads around Cambridge Primary School.
- Walney Island ward – Cows Tarn Lane and roads around Walney School.
These locations were chosen ‘following requests from Town and Parish Councils, the local Council Members, and initial consultations in relation to speeding traffic’.
The meeting takes place at Barrow Town Hall on January 14.
The meeting agenda reads: “The 20mph speed limit programme aligns with the Community Power Policy by actively involving community representatives in the design of proposals and relying on community support for implementation.
“This initiative fosters vibrant and resilient communities by promoting safer roads, enhancing the environment for walking and cycling, and improving health and wellbeing outcomes through reduced vehicle pollution and noise.”
It also details how the implementation of the 20mph limit would ‘reduce speeds, enable equitable use of the road space by all road users, encourage residents to walk and cycle, and reduce noise pollution by encouraging vehicles to travel at a more consistent speed’.
26 representations were collected during the statutory consultation with the majority supporting the implementation.
An appendix to the agenda, which outlines the responses, reads: “The 20mph speed limits are proposed as a proactive measure to reduce the likelihood and severity of a road traffic collision involving a vulnerable road user (up to 70% less risk of a fatality) and is unlikely to have a significant effect on journey times.”
It continues: “Following feedback from the community and subsequent discussion with members in early 2025, the agreed programme of locations focused around schools and other areas which are heavily used by vulnerable road users.”
Any costs associated with the implementation will be funded from a budget allocated to 20mph speed limits within the Highways Capital Programme.
The agenda outlines that the scheme aims to ‘increase uptake of active travel as environmentally friendly forms of travel’ by making it ‘easier and safer’ to walk and cycle in ‘local areas’.
It also states that reduced vehicle speeds and less braking through more consistent speeds ‘generally leads to less noise and air pollution’.
According to the agenda, a ‘safe, sustainable and serviceable highway network’ underpins the council plan vision for ‘Westmorland and Furness to be a great place to live, work and thrive and supports many of the council’s priorities’.