BRIDGEWATER, Vt. — Vermont deputies issued thousands of speeding tickets last year in a 25 mph “school zone” near a school that’s been closed for three years.

Vermont Public Radio reports a stretch of Route 4 near the former Bridgewater Village School was designated a full-time 25 mph zone by a 1983 statewide mandate that converted school zones. Vermont Agency of Transportation traffic operations engineer Amy Gamble says the state doesn’t reassess speed limits on roadways where schools have closed.

Deputies issued over 2,300 tickets in Bridgewater last year, more than anywhere in the state. Most of the tickets were from the stretch of Route 4.

Town Constable Collen Doyle argues the speed zone discourages visitors.

Windsor County Sheriff Michael Chamberlain says the speed limit helps because there aren’t sidewalks in the area.