The chief elected official of the borough told Police Commission members March 24 that although the commission, acting as the local traffic authority, in the past had decided to install broad speed bumps, known as speed tables, on Queen Street, the commission had not notified the Borough Board of Burgesses of those plans.

Borough Warden James Gaston, Sr, who heads the Board of Burgesses, told Police Commission members that the burgesses became upset because the speed tables’ presence resulted in some motorists using nearby streets to avoid the devices.

Some Queen Street traffic, which then used Glover Avenue and Main Street as alternate routes, prompted borough residents to lodge complaints with the burgesses, Mr Gaston said.

The section of Queen Street between its intersections with Grand Place and Mile Hill Road contains five speed tables, which are painted bright yellow for high visibility. The speed tables’ presence is noted by numerous traffic signs posted near them.

The installation of those speed tables came in two stages, with three of the speed-calming devices installed in late 2012, and two more installed in mid-2013.

Traffic tests with temporary speed tables preceded the installation of permanent speed tables.

The five speed tables’ presence has been a controversial topic, with some motorists objecting that they are obstructions to traffic flow, and others who live on Queen Street saying that they have been an effective way to limit travel speeds in their densely built neighborhood.

The town also has installed two speed tables on Key Rock Road, a street that links Sugar Street to the intersection of Hattertown Road and Poverty Hollow Road. A consulting engineering firm is studying possible additional measures to hold down travel speeds on Key Rock Road.

The presence of speed tables on Queen Street has placed the burgesses in a difficult position, Mr Gaston told Police Commission members.

Within a quarter-mile section of Queen Street there are several dozen signs posted, he said. Queen Street is a scenic area which now has several dozen signs, he said.

“It was done without intergovernmental collaboration,” Mr Gaston said of the speed table installation project.

Mr Gaston suggested that an alternative to speed tables on Queen Street could be installing a median thathas plantings.

Queen Street area residents’ complaints to the Police Commission about Queen Street traffic problems date back at least 15 years, with the complaints focusing on the speed of traffic, the high number of vehicles using the road, and the noise those vehicles generate.

In response to Mr Gaston’s comments, Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico said March 24 the commission held many public meetings to discuss the issue of speed control on Queen Street, including the topics of speed tables and other measures. “It was public,” he said of the protracted discussion on the topic.

Police Commission member Brian Budd noted that a serious motor vehicle accident in October 2007, in which a 8-year-old boy pedestrian was struck and seriously injured by an evading motorist on lower Queen Street, heightened the Queen Street safety issue. That motorist has never been found by police.

The speed tables slow travel speeds, Mr Budd said.

On March 25, Mr Mangiafico stressed that the installation of speed tables on Queen Street did not occur “overnight,” as had been suggested by Mr Gaston at the March 24 session.

The March 24 meeting was held to discuss the traffic problems posed by the flagpole intersection of Main Street, Church Hill Road, and West Street, which has a high accident rate.

At that meeting, Mr Gaston suggested that an ad hoc committee be organized by the Board of Selectmen to study traffic problems throughout town, with an eye toward improving conditions. Mr Gaston also is a town selectman.

The Police Commission is expected to discuss Mr Gaston’s suggestion for an ad hoc panel when it next meets on April 7.