Monday, May 13, 2013

Speed Jump

Country Road, take me home ... 

One of my sagacious readers who drives daily through North Amherst (not to be confused with the Historic Village of Cushman) wonders why the speed limit sign I photographed last month laying on its side in front of Watroba's, a victim of vandalism, has now been replaced with a new one at a much higher speed limit?



Turns out the DPW is now trying to replace signs with what the venerable Amherst Select Board actually approved, and way back when -- for this particular road -- it was 45 MPH.  But at some point that one was replaced, and the only one available at the time was a 30 MPH, so they went with it. 

The Select Board never actually voted 30 MPH thus the new one is now back to what apparently it always should have been,  45 MPH. Although the nearest sign facing the other direction is still 30 MPH.

Neighbors, however, who walk that stretch of road like the idea of 30 MPH a lot better than 45 MPH.  Or as Simon and Garfunkel once observed, "Slow down, you move to fast ..."

17 comments:

Adam Sweet said...

Any speed over 25 is too fast on that road.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how many speeding tickets have been issued to drivers going over 30 and under 45 since the speed limit was approved. I wonder if the law is whatever the sign says or whatever it is supposed to be.

Walter Graff said...

Any speed regulation must be approved by the Highway Department and Registry of Motor Vehicles before the limit can be posted. This is important, because in Mass. it is the regulation that matters, not the sign.

Bottom line a sign by itself does not dictate your speed. In Mass the law is that no person operating a motor vehicle on any way shall run it at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable and proper. The law uses the following as a standard which means you can fight any speed ticket if you can prove it.

The following are prima facie evidence of unreasonable speed in Mass:

Exceeding 30 MPH for 1/8 mile in a "thickly settled" area (where houses average less than 200 feet apart for 1/4 mile) or business district.
Exceeding 40 MPH for 1/4 mile on an undivided highway outside a thickly settled area.
Exceeding 50 MPH for 1/4 mile on a divided highway outside a thickly settled area.
Exceeding 20 MPH in a school zone.

"Prima facie" evidence means that you can be convicted of speeding if you exceed these speeds and no additional evidence is required, but you are allowed to present evidence that your speed was reasonable. In most states besides Mass speed limits are absolute; you are breaking the law by exceeding the speed limit regardless of whether you are driving safely.

So for the years I watched Amherst Police hand out speeding tickets at what was Roosters, they could have been dismissed.

Walter Graff said...

Some of you may remember on this same road a few months back the geniuses of the Amherst road department put a warning that a stop sign was ahead 100 feet or so before where the road meets route 116. How did these masters of signage do that? They put a regulation red/white stop sign with a yellow AHEAD sign under it. This caused cars to jam on their brakes many times and caused others to nearly veer off the road in confusion. Eventually it was removed for a proper STOP AHEAD orange warning sign. TEh same road that is now becoming a pot hole after the 'earth saving' way it was paved by boiling the surface and relaying it proved to be a disaster. Only in Amherst.

AlexKG said...

Also, how many other speed limit signs around town post a speed limit different from what the Select Board decided?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if anyone was stopped in that area for going over 30 and then arrested for something else like drugs or drunkenness or expired registration.

And Mr. Graff, is it really necessary to use this opportunity to bash the road crews? Boy, you sure do see opportunities to be nasty at every turn on this blog, it seems.

Walter Graff said...

Bash? I'm referring to professionalism and integrity. "We don't have a 45 mph sign so let's put up a 30." They would have been more correct simply not to put up a sign according to Mass law. And to put a blatantly illegal sign combining a stop sign and a warning sign in what is supposed to be a orange and black warning sign is not only idiotic, it could have cost someone their life. So call it bashing if that makes you happy. Where I come from we expect integrity. Playing Legos with peoples safety is very unprofessional. Most people I know take great pride in their work and strive for the best results.

Anonymous said...

I'm wondering, Mr. Graff, how you know it was not an honest mistake. Is it because Larry told you "the only one available at the time was a 30 MPH, so they went with it." Can you verify, independently, that the 30 mph sign was placed there because "that's all they had on hand"? Or are you just going with what Larry says?

You did not independently verify that, and, you leapt at the opportunity to call people who live and work in Amherst buffoons once again.

You, sir, have a very negative perception of people and the world you live in, you don't play well with others, and it must be very tiring.

Anonymous said...

However, mr. graff, you did not mention anything about work ethic or integrity, you commented on the intelligence of our road crews: "masters of signage", "geniuses"...

If you want to convey one thing the first time then use our language properly.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe everything every reporter writes, even Larry. So I'm wondering if we can get to the bottom of exactly why the 30 mph sign was installed. Mr. Kelley, would you be willing to tell us how you know it was installed there because it was "the only one available at the time"? Reliable source?

Does town or state money pay for those signs? Anyone?

Larry Kelley said...

All my sources are reliable.

Anonymous said...

Most concerning, are there any speed limit signs in town that are too high.

Anonymous said...

I was told by DPW that speed limits were decided by the state and it was a complicated process to change it. Is this true or is it the Select Board? Larry?

Larry Kelley said...

I believe the Select Board has control over town roads and the state over state roads. Render unto Caesar and all that.

If you remember the town took control of South Pleasant street all the way to Atkins Corner so they could do a "better design" at the Village Center where Pomeroy Lane intersects. Of course now we have to plow it in the winter.

Anonymous said...

Speed limits are set based on a speed study and must be approved by three groups on local roads. The Select Board, Mass DOT and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. This prevents a community from setting the speed limit to 60 mph or 20mph.

Anonymous said...

No matter who is responsible, the fact is that the current sign tells drivers to speed up the hill going past the new Survival Center crosswalk, Cowles and The Harp. Pedestrian traffic has greatly increased because of the Survival Center and safety should be the concern.

Anonymous said...

45 is absurd, how bout a toll booth then. The tires are screeching at the crosswalk to Survival Ctr. Don't forget DPW 45 really means 55, or do you drive the speed limit at what it says?