Town-wide 25mph Speed Limit Dropped In Favor Of More Digital Speed Signs

CHATHAM – Rather than adopt a town-wide 25 mile per hour speed limit for all town roads, the select board decided last week to instead seek funds for digital speed signs in the hope that they will slow down drivers in areas where speeding is a problem.

 The board endorsed an annual town meeting article seeking $66,000 for both stationary and portable LED electronic visual speed display signs, which will cover the cost of a half dozen of each type of sign.

 The move is in response to complaints about speeding on town roads, both in the summer and in the off-season. Initially, the select board considered adopting a state law that allows the town to set a 25mph speed limit on roads in areas defined as thickly settled, where houses or business buildings are spaced 200 feet apart or less for a distance of at least a quarter mile. That covers almost all roadways in town. The speed limit in thickly settled zones now is 30mph. 

 In debating whether a blanket speed limit reduction was necessary, board member Dean Nicastro suggested that a more targeted approach could be more effective. The town already has several electronic speed signs, which flash red when a vehicle exceeds the road’s speed limit, and they seem to slow down traffic, Nicastro observed.

 He suggested a combination of stationary and mobile speed signs may have more of an impact than replacing existing signs with ones with the lower speed limit, which he said drivers tend to ignore. It would also be less expensive; the public works department estimated the cost of time and materials to replace speed signs in town would be around $83,000, as opposed to the $66,000 for a dozen electronic speed signs.

 The stationary electronic digital signs cost about $4,000 each; the portable signs are $5,000, plus a $1,500 annual service plan, Police Chief Michael Anderson said.

The police department currently has three permanent LED signs, on Old Comers, Crowell and Old Queen Anne roads. Most speeding offenses occur on those roads, as well as Route 28 (which is controlled by the state and therefore would not be a candidate for one of the electronic signs), as well as Meetinghouse and Training Field roads.

Roads with the most year-round speeding complaints are Stage Harbor and Fox Hill roads and Cedar, Stepping Stones and Cross streets, all of which would be good candidates for stationary LED signs, Anderson said.

The most speeding complaints during the summer season are on Barn Hill, Ridgevale, Cockle Cove and Forest Beach roads and Pleasant Street, with the Riverbay area and Morton Road also being hot spots. All would be good candidates for the portable signs, he said.

Patrols also cut speeding, but cruisers can’t be everywhere, Anderson said. The signs would help calm speeding in neighborhoods that might have fewer patrols, he said. They would also capture data that would allow the department to better target patrols, he added. The data could also be used to decide if a town-wide 25mph speed limit is warranted, said Chair Michael Schell.

The board voted unanimously to support the warrant article for the new speed signs and put the town-wide speed limit measure aside for the time being.