Lanesborough Forms Panel to Address Swamp Road Speeding
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Residents of Swamp Road and Old State Road want to get a handle on speedsters.
Last week, the Select Board heard from them about the safety regarding the many vehicles that speed down the country roads and the speed bumps that don't do much.
Resident Joe Szczepaniak said the traffic and speeding on Swamp Road has been terrible. He said more people have been using the road since Oak Hill Road and Partridge Road have gotten speed bumps, citing drivers are avoiding those roads to use Swamp.
"We got quite a problem on Swamp Road with the traffic. The speed is awful. There's not enough the Police Department can do to ever control this problem."
He said the speeding starts early in the morning, claiming some drivers do around 80 mph. He and others in the audience are worried that their children or someone will get hurt as people cross the road many times. He thought speed bumps could help control the problem.
"It really got bad from when Oak Hill Road and Partridge Road went to the 12 or 14 speed bumps," Szczepaniak said. "So obviously now they're not going down that way. They're going down Swamp Road ... It's just we have to get a couple speed bumps in this Swamp Road to slow this thing down."
He said the speed bump installed on Old State Road near the Target entrance has been useless and should have in the lane for exiting Target, as people never stop for that stop sign.
Szczepaniak asked Police Chief Rob Derksen if he knew what he was talking about.
"There is an issue there with that whole intersection design is poor in my opinion, but I'm not a highway engineer," Derksen replied.
He said he is for removing the speed bump and how he sends patrols when Szczepaniak tells him there is speeding, and added that speed bumps can be ineffective and dangerous, as drivers just speed up right after going over them.
"They hit those speed bumps at 40 to 60 mph, obviously you're going to have a major accident, potentially a fatality … DPW with plowing," the chief said. "I'm all for removing the one that is on Old State [Road]. I never endorsed that, and I think it's caused more issues than it's helped. I think there's a lot of people that have agreed with that. And then obviously emergency response. If the speed bumps are there, we can't get to those scenes effectively."
Emergency Medical Services Director Jen Weber also noted how it can be hazardous when transferring patients, and that sometimes ambulance drivers choose to avoid the speed bump to not risk the life of someone in the back of the vehicle.
"We talk mostly about provider and patient safety. We're standing up in back, so going over a speed bump while we're trying to do patient care is dangerous for us. It's also dangerous for patients. So I actually had a patient who was a big advocate of the speed bump on Old State Road, who happened to be a patient a couple weeks ago," she said. "They had a back injury, and though my driver was very careful going over the speed bump, they said, 'Oh my God, that's what it feels like back here.' It's a lot, and it's a safety issue for us. So we are here for safety. That's the point."
Weber said they'd also picked up a patient who had been outside on the ground for some time before being discovered. Her pulse and blood pressure were low, and there were concerns about moving her.
"So we were on Partridge Road, and my providers had to make the decision of going over the speed bumps and potentially putting her into cardiac arrest or coming all the way back around," she said. "So it does affect patient care significantly."
She made a point of asking the board if there could be a committee formed with first responders and residents to find the best options on how to reduce speeding in some areas. Weber said as a Swamp Road resident, she was blind to what was happening.
"It's just that I think that we need to put more time in than just having somebody sit here and say, 'I want a speed bump,'" she said. "I think if we're able to put together some kind of committee that sits and has these conversations, and then hopefully, the board will have a representative, and give the recommendations to the board about what's safest."
The Select Board formed an ad hoc committee with Weber and Derksen volunteering and board members Jeff Walters and Jason Breault. Community members wanting to serve are being asked to submit citizens' interest form with the town prior to its first meeting.
Derksen said he has looked into radar signs that can cost a couple thousand dollars and that he can move the radar truck, that is currently on Bailey Road because of its speeding problem, to Swamp Road before winter.
With much of the conversation revolving around the speed bump at Old State Road needing to be removed, the board voted 3-1 to remove it, and also voted to look into adding one at the exit to the former mall, if that is public property. This will be left to the committee to decide.
Tags: speeding,
