Rochdale Road and Manchester Road are the main routes for vehicles moving between Rochdale, Sudden, Castleton, Slattocks, Middleton and on to Manchester.

As a resident of Slattocks all my life, I and other villagers have noticed in recent years a marked increase in vehicles speeding, sometimes at twice the legal limit or more. Not just cars but vans and large lorries that also use this road more than in previous years.

The worst affected stretch seems to be from Castleton to the Slattocks roundabout, and onto the Stannycliffe Lane junction with Rochdale Road.

The one static speed camera is not a deterrent any more. Speed bumps would not be practical on such a busy highway.

So what the signatories of this petition are  requesting is the installation of average speed cameras along this stretch, like have been installed along Victoria Avenue West in 2010.

There has also been an increase in dangerous driving, with vehicles overtaking at speed on the wrong side of bollards and pedestrian central refuges. Just today around mid-day I was waiting in the right hand turning lane for the All In One garden centre, when an impatient driver approaching slow traffic in the opposite direction overtook these cars, myself in the middle of the road, and overtook a long line of traffic at high speed on the wrong side of the road and central refuges/bollards to past Thornham Cricket Club entrance.

There have been numerous vehicle accidents and also deaths of pedestrians directly attributable to speeding and dangerous driving along this stretch.

We urgently request a review of adding average speed cameras along this busy and dangerous stretch of road, to improve safety not only for residents of the affected areas but for road users who use these roads.