Police Commission Pursues Permanent Queen Street Speed Bumps

By Andrew Gorosko

Encouraged that motorists’ travel speeds have dropped on a section of Queen Street since a pair of large temporary speed bumps were installed there in April, the Police Commission is seeking some expert advice on both the optimal number and the best locations for permanent speed bumps there.

Police Commission members, who serve as the local traffic authority, on August 7 unanimously endorsed hiring a traffic engineer to determine how many speed bumps would be needed and where they should be positioned on Queen Street to limit average travels speeds there to the 28-to-29 mile per hour range. The posted speed limit on Queen Street is 25 mph.

The section of the mile-long north-south Queen Street that is under review lies between its intersections with Glover Avenue and Mile Hill Road.

For almost four months, two broad speed bumps, known as “speed tables,” have been positioned on Queen Street near its intersections with Lovell’s Lane and with Borough Lane in an experiment intended to learn whether such devices would be effective at reducing travel speeds or would create any diversionary traffic problems on adjacent streets.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe noted that in the past, travel speeds had been much higher on Queen Street, adding that the placement of the temporary speed tables has had a dramatic effect on reducing speed there. The presence of the speed tables has had an insignificant effect on diverting traffic to nearby streets, he added.

If the Police Commission decides to have permanent speed tables installed on Queen Street, a traffic engineer should design those devices and also determine the best locations for them, the police chief said.

Chief Kehoe noted that Queen Street carries much more traffic than Key Rock Road, a street where the town installed two permanent speed tables in the fall of 2011, following an experiment there with temporary speed tables in the fall of 2010.

Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico noted the presence of temporary speed tables on Queen Street has decreased average travel speeds near the speed tables by about 5 miles per hour, showing that such devices are effective.

Commission member Joel Faxon said that the speed tables have slowed traffic speeds, resulting in safer conditions for children. He said he favors maintaining such reduced speed.

Commission member Andrew Sachs asked whether installing five or six permanent speed tables on Queens Street would be too many.

Mr Mangiafico said that based on correspondence sent to the Police Commission, the residents in the Queen Street area largely support having permanent speed tables in their neighborhood.

Dan Shea of 44 Queen Street offered his views on Queen Street traffic, saying Queen Street residents are fearful of letting their children play in front yards due to the presence of traffic.

Mr Shea also said he wants the town to install sidewalks along the west side of Queen Street because more residents live on the west side of the street than the east side.

Mr Shea called for multiple permanent speed tables on Queen Street, perhaps five or six speed tables that are relatively closely spaced.

Although the posted speed limit on Queen Street is 25 miles per hour, Queen Street area residents for more than a decade have complained to the Police Commission about speeding problems there, especially on Queen Street between its intersections with Glover Avenue and Mile Hill Road.

On Queen Street, the two temporary speed tables are positioned about 1,200 feet apart. The devices have hundreds of reflective panels on them to make them visible in the nighttime. Yellow diamond-shaped road signs warn motorists of the speed tables’ presence.

In response to the continuing complaints about traffic speeds on Queen Street, police conducted a traffic enforcement crackdown there.

During a 20-day period in February, police stopped 369 drivers on Queen Street for various violations. Those violations primarily involved speeding. Among those 369 motor vehicle stops, police issued three misdemeanor summonses, 166 infraction tickets, 155 written warnings, and 45 verbal warnings.