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Date: 7/27/2023
WESTFIELD — Traffic commissioners voted unanimously this month in favor of lowering most speed limits in Westfield to 25 mph.
The proposal is under consideration by the Westfield City Council, which had originally discussed a lower speed limit on 200 particular streets in the downtown area and adjoining neighborhoods. At a July 12 Traffic Commission meeting, however, Westfield Police Sgt. Juanita Mejias, chair of the Traffic Commission, said a simpler rule, 25 mph on all city streets unless otherwise posted, would be easier for local drivers to follow.
“After having discussions with my boss, we decided that we were going to go straight across the board and do the citywide 25 mph [in] thickly settled areas and the business districts,” Mejias said.
The affected streets are those that are already in the 25 mph central business district zone or are covered by the current 30 mph citywide speed limit. For roads currently posted with speed limits of 35 mph or higher, the posted limits would continue to apply.
At a July 6 meeting of the City Council, Westfield Police Lt. Eric Hall referred councilors to a story in The Westfield News reporting on the results of a Westfield Police Department survey, which found the top three concerns of 617 respondents who answered the survey were traffic and residential speeding, with 318 responses; drug abuse, with 248 responses; and school safety, 194 responses.
In the article, Lt. Hall said he wasn’t surprised to find residents worried about traffic issues, primarily speeding in residential neighborhoods.
According to Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe, the conversation started in Ward 3 with Councilor Bridget Matthews-Kane simply asking about speeds in the downtown district and surrounding streets, specifically Grand Street, where the speed limit is 30 mph.
“A couple of years ago, Gov. [Charlie] Baker essentially removed the state’s formula on speed under Chapter 90-17 and allowed the city or town governance systems to change speed limits according to the community’s best use. Therefore, both Ward 2 and Ward 3 were looked at to slow down vehicles in their respective areas. I was part of that discussion and wholeheartedly agree that slowing down traffic reduces the number and severity of accidents and therefore is a benefit to all of our citizens. It is pretty much the same argument that was used in lowering the speed from 40 mph to 35 mph on Western Avenue,” McCabe said.
Mejias said similar citywide 25 mph limits are already in place in Chicopee and Holyoke. Those communities have put up signs at the city limits explaining that the 25 mph maximum applies on all streets not posted otherwise. Mejias said Westfield could do the same thing, and avoid the cost of having to post individual 25 mph signs on every street.
The council referred the proposal to its Legislative and Ordinance Committee. It will have to come back before the full council for a vote before it can be enacted.