Traffic Commission Addresses Temple Street Speeding, Safety Concerns

FRAMINGHAM - Members of the Framingham Traffic Commission heard worries related to speeding and safety along Temple Street during their meeting on Tuesday, February 27.

Residents from the area have expressed their concerns related to vehicles traveling faster than the speed limits along the stretch. Speed limits on Temple Street range between 25 and 35 miles per hour. Many of those comments relayed to officials have specifically focused on the area of Temple Street north of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

After receiving the comments from residents, the city conducted a study along Temple Street from January 30 through February 1. Out of the roughly 6,000 cars per day tracked during that time, the 85th percentile metric—the figure that indicates what speed 85% of drivers are topping out at—was 38 MPH both northbound and southbound. The average speeds were right at the 35 MPH speed limit, according to recent data.

Chief Public Works Engineer for Framingham and Vice Chair of the Traffic Commission Bill Sedewitz explained to attendees at the meeting that enforcing posted speed limits is difficult due to the finite amount of resources available, such as police officers.

“We can potentially try some things we’ve tried in other locations to see if (Temple Street) is different—speed feedback signs, things like that...potentially some enhanced enforcement for a duration,” Sedewitz said, “but the toolbox is not that big relative [sic] to try to get vehicles to slow down.”

Sedewitz added that most of the accidents on Temple Street have occurred at intersections as opposed to the middle of the corridor.

Members of the Traffic Commission said that the city could experiment with portable speed feedback signs on Temple Street and later evaluate if they would be worth a permanent investment. Sedewitz did note that the process to do so could take a few weeks.