Step On It Drivers, 40 MPH Returns To Reading's Haverhill Street

READING, Ma - Attention residents, commuters, and followers of town vs. state squabbles. Once again you can drive 40 mph on Haverhill Street.

At least for now, Reading has bowed to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation ruling and changed the speed limit on Haverhill Street Tuesday back to 40 mph, with a short undefined span that is 35 mph. The speed limit is restored to what it was earlier this year before Reading changed the speed limit to 30 mph in April at the request of concerned residents along the 2.5 mile road.

But as detailed in a July 10 Patch story, the MassDOT learned of Reading's change to the speed limit and ordered the town to restore the higher speed limit. That was done Tuesday.

In addition to the new speed limit signs there are two mystery signs on Haverhill Street as of 1 p.m. Tuesday. Those signs are covered in black plastic bags (shouldn't they be paper?) and secured with duct tape. Did Reading run out of 40 mph signs? For now, it's a mystery covered in black plastic.

The return to the higher speed limits doesn't mean it's over. Reading has contacted its state elected officials with the hope of a Home Rule Petition. 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.

While this is happening, the MassDOT will conduct its own speed study to determine what's best for Haverhill Street. But Reading drivers should remember these are the same folks who gave us the confusing rotary where Haverhill Street meets Route 128, a rotary that was the subject of a previous Patch story. That rotary will soon need to be repainted by the MassDOT and who knows where the lines will go.

The next update for residents could come at the Aug. 6 Select Board meeting. Until then, drivers can press a little harder on the accelerator as they head down Haverhill Street.