City speed limits likely to be lowered

On August 18, 2016, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times
Somerville drivers may be slowing down a bit now that legislation allowing municipalities to set their own speed limits has been passed. ~Photo by Bobbie Toner

Somerville drivers may be slowing down a bit now that legislation allowing municipalities to set their own speed limits has been passed. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Joe Ruvido

After nearly a decade of rebuffed attempts, cities and towns in Massachusetts will be allowed to set their own default speed limits.

Representative Denise Provost of Somerville successfully submitted an amendment to the Municipal Modernization Bill (H.4565) allowing communities to lower the default speed limit in their jurisdictions, rather than relying on the submission of a home-rule petition for the change.

Both the Massachusetts House and Senate unanimously passed the bill that, according to masslive.com, updates and streamlines the relationship between the state and municipalities giving them more flexibility and authority.

Representative Provost had previously submitted a bill to reduce the default urban speed limit to 25 mph in 2010.

The goal of the speed limit reduction is to make city streets safer for the growing number of urban residents, the majority of which walk or commute by bicycle as their primary mode of transportation.

An oft-cited Metropolitan Area Planning Council study found that a 5 mph reduction in speed limits could prevent 2,200 crashes, 18 fatalities, and 1,200 injuries per year while saving people pain and money.

Bill H. 4565 makes it possible for cities and towns to set their own default speed limits rather than relying on the statutory state limit, a long and administratively burdensome process.

Cities and towns are eager to take advantage of the amendment. Last week the Boston City Council voted to lower the speed limit from 30 to 20 mph in the city of Boston.

According to Representative Provost, “There is no longer a need for a home-rule petition to reduce the speed limit. The City of Somerville can move now.”

Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville has previously indicated his administration’s desire to lower the speed limit to 20 mph.

Somerville resident and cyclist Molly Shanley, 26, hopes that the city exercises the autonomy granted by the amendment to do so. “I’d be happy to see the speed limit decreased,” says Shanley, who commutes to work via bike and is a regular on the community bike path in Somerville. “It would be hard to disagree with a change intended to make the streets safer for people who choose or need to walk or bike for transportation.”

 

10 Responses to “City speed limits likely to be lowered”

  1. Matt says:

    Lowering the speed is one thing but actually enforcing the speed limits and traffic laws is another. I have complained to the alderman about speeding down streets through residential neighborhoods, blatant running of red lights and not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks countless times. I have yet to see any meaningful change in ticketing offenders.

    If you live in east Somerville, you know that during times with low traffic cars and trucks regularly zip down the main streets with loud exhaust and no care for pedestrians or bikers.

  2. MarketMan says:

    Agree with Matt. I have complained to our alderman (past and present) in Ward 6. I have asked for speed bumps to avoid people cutting through at high speeds in a residential area where lots of children walk to/from school. The current alderman has not responded to my request. The past alderman said that they put up a device to monitor the speeds and didn’t find the average to be much higher than the posted speed limit, therefore didn’t require action. I believe the average speed they found was about 33MPH in a 30MPH zone. My response to that is and was that that conclusion was misinformed. Here’s why:

    Suppose 100 people drive on a road with a speed limit of 30MPH.

    Suppose 90 of those people drive at the posted speed limit of 30 MPH, and only 10 people speed through at 60MPH.

    What’s the average speed that a monitoring device will report? 33MPH

    The average doesn’t seem high even though 10% of the drivers were speeding at DOUBLE the speed limit!!

    I’m not saying that THAT is what I have observed, but I have seen during certain times of the day many drivers speeding through at 10-20MPH over the speed limit.

  3. BMac says:

    Agree, would rather see more enforcement of current limits than see limits lowered.

  4. A Moore says:

    Somerville is a city where many people drive aggressively. We do not have enough law enforcement to keep up with it. Changing the speed limit on the sign will do little here unless it is enforced. Even speed bumps don’t do much. They just pick up speed and hit it at an angle and fly through it. Also you are more likely here in Somerville to speed past a policeman and get away with it compared to other cities as I have witnessed many times.

  5. Joseph Lynch says:

    Congrats to Rep. Provost. She’s been fighting for this since her Alderman days. Thank you.

  6. Matt C says:

    A Moore – I agree changing the speed limit won’t help, the only thing that will change behavior is enforcement. Personally I am far less concerned with the major streets (Broadway, Medford, Highland, etc and think the issue is on our smaller, often 1 way streets where the majority of us live. All you need is one distracted, speeding driver and a kid running into the street and you have a tragedy that can’t be undone.

    As for speed bumps I’m pretty sure that if someone put a speed bump up on my street it would be impossible to avoid because if you try to angle over it you’ll end up hitting a parked car!. The determination of a speed bump being installed should be based upon a majority of affected residents requesting it.

    I don’t expect (or really want) SPD to be focused on speed traps, It would be FAR cheaper to buy a mobile traffic camera and move it around the city each week to a new location.

  7. Matt says:

    I typically send my requests to all the alderman, at large and even those that do not represent my ward. Better chance of having someone do something and if it comes up in discussion in a meeting all the alderman would have prior awareness.

    John Connolly ,
    MJRossetti@somervillema.gov,
    aldermansullivan@aol.com,
    william.a.white@verizon.net,
    mmclaughlin@somervillema.gov,
    mheuston@hotmail.com,
    RMcWatters@somervillema.gov,
    tony@tonylafuente.com,
    M.Niedergang@comcast.net,
    Lance Davis ,
    Katjana Ballantyne

  8. airedalewoofer says:

    Rep. Denise Provost, great job this year. We hope voters remember
    you in the November elections. Keep up your excellent work for the
    folks of Somerville.

  9. LindaS says:

    I definitely agree with all of you. If people want to obey posted signs they will, and if they don’t, no amount of signage or changes in laws will make one bit of difference. It’s very rare that the stop sign on my street corner is obeyed.

    No matter what part of Somerville you live in, you will find people who speed along side streets and narrow main roads with little regard for the limit. Speed bumps would go a long way towards mitigating this, but of course it costs more money than changing signs.

    No texting while driving laws, seat belt laws, none of these have had much impact because there is simply not enough being done to enforce them. I see this being no different, but only time will tell.

  10. Charlie says:

    Actually, Boston is lowering their speed limit to 25 mph, not 20 mph.