Letter re: Speeding in Town

Dear Residents,

The Selectboard met recently to discuss speeding on Hickory Drive, in particular, and traffic issues throughout Town, in general. Residents from Hickory, Ball Hill, Gregory Hill, Allen Hill, Mountain, Mirick, and Merriam were in attendance. The residents reinforced the Board’s own observations that speeding is a problem on many roads in Town. Residents described difficulty crossing some roads safely, cars passing inappropriately, and vehicles using local roads as cut throughs. Police Chief Michele Powers was at the meeting at the request of the Selectboard and informed them and the residents about some of the issues related to speed enforcement. Though our officers spend a significant amount of time enforcing speed limits, we don’t have sufficient staff to dedicate an officer to traffic duty. Michele pointed out that the Waze app has made the problem worse because users can easily alert others to the presence of police. When asked what might help, Michele mentioned that electronic speed boards that alert drivers to their excess speed have been shown to be quite helpful.

Interim Town Administrator Rick White summarized what has been tried and learned about controlling speeding based on his many years of experience in communities closer to Boston. He mentioned that speed bumps are no longer as popular as they were because of insurance claims (car damage, people tripping), noise, and the difficulty of maintenance. Highway Superintendents are reluctant to fasten temporary speed bumps to the pavement because of damage to the road’s integrity. He also mentioned that speed boards have been shown to be quite effective and reasonably inexpensive. Some towns are now installing speed tables which are raised sections of pavement that are permanently built into the road. Rick mentioned that some communities have Traffic Advisory Committees consisting of Public Safety, DPW, and residents that take applications for assistance from residents, investigate, and report periodically to the Selectboard. This echoed what resident John Shipman requested earlier in the meeting: a committee to investigate the traffic issues.

The Selectboard asked Michele to look into the type of speed boards available and to make a recommendation to the Board on which board to purchase and how many she believes would be adequate. Some speed boards have cameras that can record license plates and speeds. Michele will also look into whether or not the Town can ticket drivers based on those recordings.

The Board plans to consider whether or not to form a Traffic Advisory Committee. They will investigate what other towns have done and think about what the charge of the committee might be.

We encourage residents to carefully monitor their own driving habits. We are aware of our own tendency to drive too fast at times.