Speed Tables Coming Soon To Queen Street

By Andrew Gorosko

The town soon plans to install two temporary broad speed bumps, known as speed tables, on residential Queen Street in an experiment to learn whether having such structures in place would effectively slow down the fast traffic traveling on that mile-long north-south road in town center.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe told Police Commission members on April 3 that a review of Queen Street traffic flow has shown that there are two suitable places for the temporary speed tables to be installed. 

The devices would be installed by next week or the week after on Queen Street just north of its intersection with Lovells Lane, and also on Queen Street just south of its intersection with Borough Lane, he said.

The temporary speed tables would remain in place for two months during which time their effectiveness would be gauged. If the devices prove workable, up to five permanent speed tables might be installed on the section of Queen Street lying between its intersections with Glover Avenue and Mile Hill Road.

A possible negative effect of the speed tables would be the diversion of traffic onto the several side streets that link Queen Street to South Main Street (Route 25), Chief Kehoe said. Such a situation would result in more motorists seeking to make turns from those side streets onto South Main Street, he said.

“Many people may just avoid Queen Street all together,” if speed tables are in place there, he said.

If those speed tables create problems for residents on adjacent side streets, those residents will make complaints to police, said police Captain Joe Rios.

The town would need to try other “speed calming” techniques for Queen Street if the presence of speed tables there creates traffic diversion problems on adjacent side streets, Chief Kehoe said.

The police chief noted that if permanent speed tables are installed on Queen Street, those devices would be better designed than the temporary experimental devices that will be installed soon.

In response to continuing complaints about traffic speeds on Queen Street, police recently conducted a traffic enforcement crackdown there.

During a 20-day period in February, police stopped 369 drivers on Queen Street for various violations. Those violations primarily involved speeding. Among those 369 motor vehicle stops, police issued three misdemeanor summonses, 166 infraction tickets, 155 written warnings, and 45 verbal warnings.