Speed Control Urged For

Taunton Lake Drive Area

By Andrew Gorosko

In response to concerns about speeding traffic in a residential neighborhood, police plan to monitor traffic flow in the Taunton Lake Drive area to curb motorists who drive too fast there.

Resident Marilyn Alexander of 8 Taunton Lake Drive told Police Commission members October 4 that some motorists in the neighborhood well exceed the 25 mile-per-hour speed limit for the area, posing hazardous conditions for pedestrians.

The Taunton Lake Drive neighborhood lies between Mt Pleasant Road and Taunton Pond. The neighborhood includes Taunton Lake Drive, Orchard Lane, Mt Pleasant Terrace, Knollwood Drive, and Reservoir Road.

Ms Alexander told commission members that she has asked speeding motorists in the area to be more considerate in their driving behavior. Some drivers are receptive to such comments and others are not, she said.

Ms Alexander also said that construction equipment used in home renovation projects in the area sometimes damages tree branches adjacent to streets while that equipment is in transit.

Ms Alexander said that the speeders are not only commercial truck drivers, but also some residents who live in the neighborhood.

The Taunton Lake Drive resident said that she would like to have speed bumps installed on neighborhood streets, but added that she realizes that the town is not likely take such a measure for speed control. The area is posted with signs stating a 25-mph speed limit, she said, adding that she would like to have the speed limit reduced to 15 mph.

Ms Alexander urged that police patrol the neighborhood to curb speeding. Mt Pleasant Road also carries speeding motorists, she added.

The woman urged that the police department mount a speed control campaign to make it clear that speeding will not be tolerated locally.

Ms Alexander told Police Commission members that neighborhood residents discussed the speeding problems in the area when they held a block party last summer.

Police Commission Chairman Carol Mattegat said police could post a patrol officer in the neighborhood who would park on a residential driveway and wait for speeding violations to occur.

Both Ms Alexander and a Knollwood Drive resident, who attended the session in support of speed control, offered police the use of their driveways for such enforcement work.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe suggested that police use radar-based speed control equipment in the neighborhood to control speeding motorists.

Police Captain Joe Rios told Ms Alexander that police will check the applicable speed limit postings in the area and then enforce the speed limit in the neighborhood with radar equipment.