Speed Tables Considered to Cure Governors Road Traffic Issue

Issues with traffic going down Governors Road have come up at various times over the last half-century. Residents have long expressed concerns over high volumes of traffic traveling quickly down the road, which connects Edge Hill Road in Milton with Upton Street in Quincy.

The latest concerns came earlier this summer when the East Milton Square Parking and Access Study started. Residents of Governors Road, which is now heavily populated with young families, raised issues at the Business and Citizens Advisory Committee's meeting about the study. Several residents also spoke at the following Board of Selectmen's meeting to share their worries that the road is used as a cut through to avoid the square.

Selectmen Robert Sweeney lived most of his life on Governors Road and was active in past protests, including when the road was blocked off at Edge Hill Road in 1978.  Rocks placed across the road eliminated cut through traffic, but only lasted for two or three months after mounting pressure.

Now with the issue back in forefront, Sweeney knows where the residents are coming from. At the July 19 Board of Selectmen meeting, Sweeney proposed two speed tables and a stop sign at the Governors Road intersection with Warner Road.

"I just think those are the proposals that offer positive relief to the residents," Sweeney said.

The Quincy side of Governors Road already has a pair of speed bumps.

In the past, the town of Milton dismissed placing speed bumps or tables on Governors Road, but since 2006, the town has added eight speed humps around town. There are two on Thacher Street: one at the intersection of Houston Avenue and one at the intersection of Darby Road. There is also a speed table at the intersection of Capen Street and Eliot Street. In 2007, the town added five in the Hillside neighborhood with two on Harland Street, two on Hillside Street and one on Forest Street.

The speed humps in town haven't fully solved the traffic issues in those areas, according to Assistant Town Engineer John Thompson.

"For the most part, traffic counts have shown the speed tables to be ineffective," Thompson said in an email. "They do not seem to reduce traffic volume, and the speed slowing effect seems to be fairly localized to the location of the speed tables only, with traffic getting back up to speed fairly quickly."

Thompson said other drawbacks to speed bumps are street noise, impedance of emergency vehicles and cost. Thompson estimates the cost of raised intersections like those on Eliot Street and Thacher Street are around $45,000 each. The small bumps in the Hillside area, that do not include drainage work, run about $8,000 a piece.

"These costs are three to four years old and could be significantly higher considering recent escalation of asphalt prices," Thompson said.

Thompson also addressed the use of stop signs to slow or deter traffic on Governors Road. "(Stop signs) are really regulatory signs and should not be considered traffic calming devices," he said, adding the Federal Highway Administration has laid out specifics for stop sign usage.

If traffic-calming devices were used on Governors, the Traffic Commission would need to first look at the issue. Thompson said factors like "average speed of traffic, average daily traffic, slope of the roadway, length of the roadway, condition of the pavement, and roadway drainage"  would be considered among other things.

The Traffic Commission would then make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen, which has final authority.

Sweeney said he believes the other members of the board would be open-minded in considering his suggestion. "I felt very good at the Selectmen's meeting on the 19^th," Sweeney said.