Residents Split Over Town-wide 25MPH Speed Limit

CHATHAM – Rather than adopt a town-wide 25 mile per hour speed limit, residents at a public forum last week indicated they’d like to see the lower limit applied mostly to roadways where speeding is a problem.

 “Twenty-five [miles per hour] is fine, but we need to perhaps be more selective” about which roads the lower limit applies to,” said resident David Van Wye.

 After concerns about speeding were raised through the traffic safety committee, the select board agreed to let voters at the May 10 annual town meeting decide if they want to adopt a state law that allows officials to reduce the speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour in areas determined to be “thickly settled.” A thickly settled area is defined as an area where the average distance between buildings is less than 200 feet over a quarter-mile or more. State roads, such as Routes 28 and 137, would be exempt.

 “The vast majority of Chatham’s roads would be eligible for the lower speed limit,” said Public Works Director Rob Faley. That’s just over 200 town roads. Replacing existing speed limit signs on those roadways would cost an estimated $81,000 and take 600 hours of labor, he said.

 While speeding is certainly a problem on some town roads, radar surveys show the average speed is close to 30MPH, said Deputy Police Chief Lou Malzone. On Cedar Street between Aug. 25 and Sept. 4, the average speed of vehicles was 24.8MPH, with 51MPH the maximum. On Stepping Stones Road between Sept. 12 and 18, the average speed was 27.6MPH with the maximum at 58. In both cases, the 85th percentile average — which the state would use to set a speed limit — was around 30MPH.

 Chatham already has numerous thickly settled zones where the speed limit is now 30MPH. Adopting the law would allow officials to either set a 25MPH limit for those areas or keep some at 30MPH and designate others at 25MPH.

 Several roadways were referred to as “speedways” by residents, including Cedar Street, Stage Harbor Road and Old Queen Anne Road. One homeowner said 25 residents of Stage Harbor Road request that the speed limit there be lowered to 25MPH. A stretch of Old Queen Anne Road where drivers “put the pedal to the metal” would benefit from more patrols and signs, said resident Dianne Connolly. Digital speed signs are especially helpful, she said.

 “If you’re told what your speed limit is, it kind of reminds you what’s going on,” she said.

 Even though the Old Queen Anne Road’s speed limit is 30, most vehicles travel faster than that. Van Wye said when he drives 30MPH on the road, cars often pile up behind him “and I’m the bad guy holding everyone up.” 

 “That’s not a very comfortable feeling,” he said. “I’ve actually had people yell and scream at me and tell me I shouldn’t be on the road when I was only going the speed limit.”

 Many vehicles speed down Pleasant Street, Forest Beach Road, Mill Creek and Bay View Roads in South Chatham, said resident Barbara Cahoon. A petition was signed by 500 people two years ago seeking a lower speed limit in the neighborhood, she said.

 “You can put up all the signs you want, but if you don’t have some way to enforce it, it doesn’t mean squat,” she said.

 The police department has a digital speed sign that not only displays a vehicle’s speed but also records vehicle speeds and trips, as well as a unit that records speeds and trips but does not have a display, Malzone said. The department is looking at grants and other opportunities to purchase more traffic monitoring equipment, said Chief Michael Anderson. He urged anyone with a speeding complaint to call the department.

 “We will answer your call,” he said.

 The data the department collects could help narrow the streets best suited to the lower speed limit, suggested select board member Cory Metters.

 At its meeting Tuesday after The Chronicle’s deadline, the select board was scheduled to vote on whether to include adoption of the state law on the town meeting warrant.