NA Considers Adopting State Law to Reduce Speed Limits

North Adams city officials are considering the adoption of a state law that would allow them to reduce the speed limits on some streets.

iBerkshires.com  Tammy Daniels reports at Tuesday's City Council meeting, Councilor Benjamin Lamb said there were a lot of layers to go through with the state to reduce any speed limits. Adopting the state law would cut through those layers.

Several councilors thought the idea a good one but were concerned about the enforcement factor, particularly if there were already speeding complaints.

President Keith Bona questioned if the ordinance should be shelved until a new police chief was hired, saying a new law enforcement leader could lead to revisiting the measure. That idea was rebuffed by councilors.

The Public Safety Committee's new Chairman Jason LaForest agreed, adding that the department had "qualified officers" who could provide insight on traffic enforcement.

Currently, 30 mph is the default speed on any street that does not have a speed limit sign; if there is no sign, a speed study would not have to be done in order to reduce the speed. Should the speed limit be changed, a sign would likely be posted to ensure that drivers know what the new limit is.

The proposed ordinance was referred to the Public Safety Committee with a return date of the second meeting in March.