THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, July 12, 2019 Page 3 Saugus speed limits: Preliminary report makes recommendations for six streets T he Engineering Corp. (TEC) of Andover made the following preliminary recommendations in a report released this week. Town residents can view the entire report by going to the Town of Saugus website at https:// www.saugus-ma.gov/town-managers-office and looking for Traffic Engineering Study for Special Speed Regulations Draft. To watch the public hearing at Town Hall where the report was discussed, go to https://vimeo. com/saugustelevision and look for Saugus Town-Wide Speed Limit Analysis, July 8, 2019. The state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) determines speed limits based on the speed at or below which 85 percent of motorists travel. “The 85th percentile speed is the national standard for establishing safe speed limits,” the report notes. Water Street (Route 129) The Water Street speed data as noted in Table 3 and as shown in Figure 9 shows an 85th percentile speed of 39 MPH to 41 MPH in the eastbound direction and 39 MPH to 42 MPH in the westbound direction. The trial runs generally range from 35 MPH to 45 MPH through the corridor. The Water Street corridor experienced a total of 21 crashes with 1 crash directly related to speed within the five-year period (2014-2019). Water Street is a commuter corridor which connects Wakefield with Route 1 through Saugus. Although a heavy commuter corridor, the corridor also provides access to residential homes and recreation areas along its length. Based on the number of residences with direct access to Water Street and other side-friction elements throughout the corridor, it is TEC’s engineering judgement to recommend maintaining the existing 30 MPH speed limit to the east of Richardson Circle and 35 MPH to the west of Richardson Circle. Between Richardson Circle and the Town Line, the existing 35 MPH speed limit is within the calculated safe speed range. Although the existing 30 MPH zone between Richardson Circle and Walnut Street is lower than the safe speed range, TEC notes that the close spacing of residences conforms with the Thickly Settled criteria, specifically between Butterfield Road and Walnut Street, and therefore merits the lower speed limit, which matches the MGL Chapter 90, Section 17 general statutory speed limit of 30 MPH for Thickly Settled areas, which would be applicable in this speed zone. Central Street Central Street currently has eight speed regulations over its 2.5-mile length, ranging from 20 MPH to 35 MPH. The Central Street speed data as noted in Table 3 and as shown in Figure 10 shows an 85th percentile speed of 34 to 36 MPH in the northbound and southbound directions throughout the corridor, except for between Pearl Road and Saville Street, where the 85th percentile speed was 38 MPH northbound and 41 MPH southbound. The trial runs generally range from 20 MPH to 40 MPH through the corridor. The Central Street corridor experienced a total of 80 crashes with six crashes directly related to speed within the five-year period. Central Street is a collector roadway traveling the length of Saugus. A heavily traveled corridor, Central Street provides access to residential areas and the Town Center along its length and can be classified as Thickly Settled in the residential districts and as a Business District within the Town Center. Based on the number of residences with direct access to Central Street and other side-friction elements throughout the corridor, it is TEC’s engineering judgement to recommend a consistent 30 MPH speed limit along the length of Central Street, with the exception of maintaining the existing 25 MPH and 20 MPH speed zones surrounding the Town Center (between Saville Street and Vermont Avenue). The 30 MPH proposed speed zone is within the seven miles per hour low range of the 85th percentile speed as collected, matches the applicable MGL Chapter 90, Section 17 general statutory speed limit for Thickly Settled/Business District areas, and is less of a change in speed between the residential area speed zones and the business area 25/20 MPH speed zones. The 30 MPH speed limit is consistent with other primary roadways entering the Town Center through residential areas. The proposed speed limits standardize the speed limits along the majority of the roadway length, reducing the number of speed regulations to five. Main Street The Main Street speed data as noted in Table 3 and as shown in Figure 10 shows an 85th percentile speed ranging from 33 MPH east of Route 1 to 44 MPH near the Town Line. The trial runs range from 30 MPH toward the Town Center to 45 MPH to the Town Line. The Main Street corridor experienced a total of 219 crashes with 9 crashes directly related to speed within the five-year period. This would correspond to approximately 109 crashes per mile of roadway over that period; however, a majority of the crashes are focused in the vicinity of the Main Street / Route 1 interchange. Main Street is a heavily used commuter corridor which provides direct access to Route 1. Although a heavy commuter corridor, the corridor also provides flow for significant noncommuter traffic with a concentration of retail land uses to the west of Route 1, residential areas to the east of Route 1 and direct access to the Oaklandvale Elementary School. The 85th percentile speeds are within six MPH of the existing speed regulations along the roadway. Therefore, it is TEC’s engineering judgement to maintain the existing speed zoning along this roadway. Due to the commuter nature of the roadway and the commercial land uses, a change in speed limit is unlikely to change driver behavior along the roadway. Maintaining the existing conditions retains consistency for drivers through the corridor. The speed zones are of a length, between 0.4 miles and 0.57 miles, which can be enforced by the Saugus “AFCNS is an incredibly important part of our lives. 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