On Reading's Haverhill Street, Road Rage Of A Different Kind

READING, MA — It's not the road rage you're used to hearing about. This dispute pits the state against Reading over who controls the speed limit on Haverhill Street, one of the main roads through town. While complicated, the basis for the dispute is fairly simple. Reading owns Haverhill Street and therefore feels it has control of the speed limit. But the Massachusetts Department of Transportation says regulation of the road falls to them. So far, the state is winning.

At Tuesday's Reading Select Board meeting, Town Manager Bob LeLacheur shared an update on his latest meeting with MassDOT officials. That June 27 meeting in Arlington left LeLacheur frustrated, disappointed, and with little hope of changing the mind of a major state bureaucracy. But since then LeLacheur has spoken with Reading Rep. Brad Jones and where there was frustration in June there's now some hope in July.

For years, Haverhill Street had a posted speed limit that started at 40 mph coming off the rotary on Route 128 then slowed to 35 mph around the Killam School before going back to 40 mph approaching North Reading. After residents said speeding cars were a danger to all who lived on Haverhill Street, the Reading Police Department conducted a study and agreed. In April, the speed limit was dropped to 30 mph. It didn't last long.

No one is sure who protested the slower speed but someone did. And that individual resurrected a bit of Reading history that no one in town was aware of. In 1974, the Reading Board of Selectmen agreed to establish special speed limits on certain streets, including Haverhill Street. The Town Manager's office had no record of the agreements and the Select Board's Official Traffic Rules and Regulations had no record of the 1974 agreement. But someone knew and didn't like the slower speed limit, so the individual let MassDOT know. MassDOT chose to ignore the town's own traffic study and plea for safety and instead based their decision to overturn Haverhill Street's 30 mph speed limit on a decision made 45 years ago.

If you feel a 5-10 mph difference of opinion isn't much, think again. Residents who appeared before the Select Board Tuesday, like Haverhill Street resident Jim Dudley, spoke of the dangers of construction vehicles going 40 mph on a street where kids walk to school. And Deputy Police Chief David Clark stood with them, saying the difference between a crash at 30 mph and one at 40 mph is dramatic.

Despite the town's efforts, in the short term there's not much it can do. In the next week, the town will take down the 30 mph signs and restore the old, higher speed limits. Then, MassDOT will conduct a month-long study to determine which speed is best. But town officials warned that the result could be an even higher speed limit because of the way the MassDOT conducts the study. The town asked for the study to be delayed until September when traffic patterns are more normal, but MassDOT refused.

While the study is being done, the town is expected to pursue a Home Rule Petition and enlist the help of their elected state officials, including Reps. Rich Haggerty, Jones Sen. Jason Lewis. A Home Rule Petition is a way for towns to petition Beacon Hill for something contrary to state law. It's what Reading used to get senior tax relief for its residents.

"That's where we have to be aggressive," said Select Board member John Halsey of the petition.

One added twist to the dispute? MassDOT is about to start repaving Main Street. Work on the area between the train tracks and Stoneham expected to begin next month. Fighting with someone who is giving you up to $6 million for road work isn't a good idea.

The Select Board meets again Aug. 6. Cars will be going 40 mph on Haverhill Street long before then. For residents, it's road rage with no immediate end in sight.