Town Meeting Authorizes Selectmen to Set Speed Limits and Safety Zones

Part of the Municipal Modernization Act (MMA) adopted by the Massachusetts Legislature on July 31, 2016, and announced by Gov. Charlie Baker on Aug. 9, 2016, included two reform measures allowing city or town officials to set speed limits as low as 25 mph in heavily trafficked areas and to establish safety zones with a speed limit of 20 mph.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, a safety zone has to do with a street that is adjacent to a land use, such as a school, and is likely to attract pedestrian use. These new measures may be found in the Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 90, sections 17C and 18B, respectively.
Each community is responsible for adopting these new reforms through town meeting, and on May 3, Ashland residents voted to authorize the Board of Selectmen (BOS) to set speed limits of 25 mph in any areas in Town defined by state law as “thickly settled or business districts” and to establish safety zones for speed reduction to 20 mph in certain areas.
“We are hearing more traffic safety concerns from residents, so the concept of adopting these new measures makes perfect sense for Ashland and gives us more tools to work with,” Board of Selectman Steven Mitchell stated.
A few years ago, the BOS established the Road Traffic Safety Study Committee, chaired by Sgt. Ed Burman, to be the first part of a process by which the Board could make changes where needed.
“Because our primary commuter roads are becoming more and more densely trafficked, people are looking for alternate routes to bypass main arteries,” Mitchell said. “Consequently, our scenic back roads are getting more crowded. As the road and parking commissioners in Town, we receive residents’ complaints about speed. There is nothing we can do about controlling traffic on public roads, but we can apply mechanisms to help reduce speed.”
The Board has acted on several concerns already.
After several months of traffic study, the BOS is now planning a six-month trial to add two stop signs in Town, one at Olive St. and one at Lafolette Rd., to help moderate the velocity of traffic through those intersections.
In addition, the BOS is proposing adding two solar-powered flashing signs to the existing safety zone in front of the public library. “One sign will be installed on either side of the street in the painted crossing area, so residents will just push a button to activate the lights. No driver should miss that,” Mitchell added.
Residents with concerns about traffic safety are encouraged to contact the Road Traffic Safety Study Committee through Town Hall. Committee members will review the concerns and, if warranted, conduct a traffic study or other measure to propose a solution, and if approved, order the signage or materials needed to implement the change.