Londonderry’s Traffic Safety Committee met on Oct. 7 to discuss a recent call from State Senator, Sharon Carson, regarding a push to reduce the speed limit on Route 102 from 55 to 45 miles per hour.
In her call to the Committee, Senator Carson claimed she was waiting to get word back from the Department of Transportation Commission Cass on when and how signs on the highway will be changed over in the near future.
Christine and Robert Fitzgerald also hoped for action on the speed of southbound traffic on Parmenter Road, High Range Road, and Rebecca Drive.
“I looked at it, and I did meet with the Fitzgerald’s, explaining to them that the close proximity with their driveway to the intersection as well as the width of where Rebecca comes onto High Range Road, there would be nothing we could do immediately. However, I immediately recommended they do some sight distance improvements.” Said Director of Engineering and Environmental Services, John Trottier. “They saw and understood it.”
Speeding and accidents at problem intersections, including Mammoth Road, South Road, and Griffin Road have been a central focus for the Committee, although there were complaints from members over their lack of authority to make concrete changes in many cases. Not only does NHDOT have authority over state-funded roads, but Police Chief, Kim Bernard, noted that funding for factors, including new signs, further traffic studies, and enforcement would need to come from somewhere. He suggested slower speed limits as a factor the town might reasonably act on.
“You’ve got to look at the big picture: what is this going to cost? What is this going to do? Is this the right answer?” said Bernard. “We can’t control who comes here, we can’t control who goes through our community, but we can control the speed limit.”
While speed has been a focus, other factors related to accidents in town involved driver distraction and a failure to obey traffic signs, the last of which was a common complaint from many residents.
During public comments, Dave Barlow, who lives at the intersection of Perkins and Bartley Hill Roads spoke in favor of more signs in the area.
“There’s a tremendous amount of traffic that speeds through there now. There have been a tremendous amount of accidents at that intersection and I have asked before, I would like to see a stop sign at all three corners,” said Barlow, who noted the emergency services often frequented Perkins to go uptown. “I’m just waiting to stand in my kitchen, to look out that window, and unfortunately see a police car, a fire truck, or an ambulance get t-boned by the blue-purple mustang who flies up that road at God only knows how many miles per hour.”
Currently, only the turn from Bartley Hill has a stop sign in what is a three-way intersection. There have been no known recent fatalities at the intersection over the past few decades, despite a number of accidents.
Notably, Trottier disagreed, saying it did not believe using stop signs “as a traffic control device” would be effective. Bernard noted that drivers ignoring street signs had been an ongoing issue.
Despite the disagreement, after extensive debate, the Traffic Committee eventually voted in favor of adding stop signs to the intersection.