Crowland speeders should be targeted by police and new Speed Watch group, say Couns Nigel Pepper and Phillip Green

Councillors believe an increased police presence and the formation of a Speed Watch group could help curb speeding drivers.

A number of Crowland residents have voiced concerns about speeders in the town in recent weeks - with Peterborough Road, James Road and Postland Road touted as ‘death traps’ and ‘race tracks’ by some.

However, two councillors say the majority of incidents tend to be down to poor driving rather than faults with the roads themselves.

Phillip Green, who is vice chairman of Crowland Parish Council, said all three of those roads are clearly marked with speed limits.

He believes they all have ‘obvious dangers that you get on a road through a town, with parked cars and junctions’.

Coun Green said: “It is just blatant bad driving really.

“You do see it quite a lot.”

The parish council has installed a few cameras in the town which inform drivers of the speed they are travelling at.

However, Coun Green wants to see more occasional stops by police officers to deter potential offenders along the aforementioned roads.

He added: “I think a few prosecutions would calm things down.”

Nigel Pepper, who represents Crowland on the district and county councils, says it is ‘a well known fact that unfortunately most of those that speed are local to their community’.

He said: “Peterborough Road, Crowland has become busier recently with more properties being built on that side of the town and with more to be built brings with it more traffic.

“The current maximum speed limit of 30mph is the correct one and meets with Lincolnshire County Council’s speed limit policy.

“Our overstretched police cannot be available to patrol this as much as we would all like and many local villages have volunteers operating Speedwatch.

“The visible and ad-hoc presence of the volunteers alone is effective in drivers reducing their speed and I would welcome a group being set up in Crowland.

“In the meantime I would urge drivers to be more careful and considerate and importantly allow more time for their journeys.”

Coun Green also believes a Speed Watch group would be welcomed in Crowland.

He said: “I think that would be very beneficial, but with everything these days finding volunteers would be very hard.

“It would be very welcome to have that in the town. Deeping St Nicholas have a group that do it, and, do it with a great deal of success.”