Borders 20mph speed limit move made permanent

Signs were put up across the Borders in October 2020

A 20mph speed limit is to be made permanent across the Borders after a two-year trial produced "clear and obvious safety benefits".

Scottish Borders Council was the first in Scotland to introduce the zones in all areas.

An online consultation on the move was forced offline last year due the abuse received.

The move will be made permanent in most places but some will have "hybrid" limits between 20mph and 40mph.

The council used £1.2m from the Scottish government's Spaces for People fund to introduce lower speed limits in 97 locations in October 2020.

Soon afterwards it admitted the move had provoked a "mixed reaction".

The move is said to have produced clear safety benefits

However, it has now concluded that the reduced speed limit should be made permanent across the region from 16 January.

It said data had shown average speed reductions of between 3mph and 6mph.

The council said that could reduce accident numbers and make communities feel safer.

A blanket 20mph limit in all places was felt to be "unrealistic, unjustified and generally uncomfortable".

'Vibrant place'

Areas where there are no homes near the road or stretches where the limit is "difficult to justify" will become "hybrid" zones with a variation of 20mph, 30mph and 40mph limits.

They include most of the region's biggest towns such as Kelso, Galashiels, Hawick, Peebles, Jedburgh and Selkirk.

John Greenwell, executive member for roads development and maintenance, said there was "unequivocal evidence" of the effectiveness of the limit.

"Although a small number of people had doubts about this project, its introduction has undoubtedly made the Borders a safer and more vibrant place to live," he said.