Northborough committee to gather speed data after Green Street residents ask for 25 mph limit and speed humps

The Town of Northborough Traffic Safety Committee on March 10 agreed to collect baseline speed and vehicle-count data on Green Street after residents requested reducing the posted limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour and installing speed humps.

Scott, a committee member, reviewed prior work on speed humps and said the town's citizen survey (‘‘Bill Pierce spearheaded’’) did not show widespread use of speed humps by peer communities except near schools and parks. Scott cautioned that Green Street is "very narrow" and that a key installation criterion is "positive drainage and adequate safe shoulder," which the street lacks in places.

Josh, a town employee in public works, suggested using temporary signs that record speed and said, "We do have the, temporary signs that can record the speed." He recommended deploying signs for a week in each direction to capture 85th-percentile speeds, speed ranges and vehicle counts. Tom, another town staff member, offered to rotate signs and run radar, saying he would "start working on that this week and into next week and see what I can gather before next meeting."

Committee members, including Chris, emphasized that data should guide any change. Chris said, "I think that's our probably our best first step is to get the data to really understand." Several members noted that changing the posted limit by 5 mph alone is unlikely to solve attention or sight-line problems noted by staff.

The committee did not take formal action to alter the speed limit or install humps; instead it directed DPW to collect and report speed and volume data and to keep the item on next month's agenda for reconsideration.

The committee plans to review the collected data and revisit the request at its next meeting.