Date: 4/28/2016
At the upcoming Town Meeting on May 10, there will be a vote on Article 27, which seeks to lower the speed limit on residential side streets to 20 miles per hour. I commend the effort of the young people who proposed this change and also their parents for supporting legal civic action, but this proposal is unrealistic, impractical and unnecessary. In the informational booklet, it is written that “this bylaw would increase safety by reducing the speed limit on residential side streets.”
Where is the proof for this statement? If lowering the speed limit on residential side streets is in direct proportion to promoting safety, why not have 15 miles per hour or even 10 miles per hour be the legal limit? Where are the statistics that reveal serious accidents which occurred while drivers were traveling between 20 and 30 miles per hour, that such events were definitely caused by the speed of the vehicle, and that such accidents would not have occurred with vehicles moving under 20 miles per hour?
If speeders do not obey a 30 mile per hour limit, is it logical to expect them to adhere to a 20 mile per hour limit? Have you ever driven at only 20 miles per hour or less to realize how slow this is? Please direct your vehicle at 20 miles per hour along an average length residential side street and you are likely to notice a tailgating line behind you with those drivers wondering about the stalled movement. I only hope that no frustrated person would attempt to pass legally moving vehicle. On major highways, it has been reported that a major cause of accidents is due to people in the lefthand lane moving too slowly, this irritating other drivers and causing them to engage in risky behavior that reduces safe scenarios.
It theoretically could be true that safety will increase on residential side streets with a 20 mile per hour limit, but it also would seem likely that such a change would not do so while creating other problems. The best means for increasing safety on residential side streets as a first move is for police to be a visible presence as much as possible to enforce the current speed limit and, perhaps, to increase the fine – not initially to lower the speed limit to 20 miles per hour, a level at which I predict the great majority is likely violate, this creating many more lawbreakers. If you are among the people who exit the Town Meeting early with others diving behind you, please travel at 20 miles per hour along Grassy Gutter Road to witness what develops.
Tony Odierna
Longmeadow
