SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board tabled the Police Department’s proposal to construct 20 speed tables throughout town for further discussion in three weeks.
Police Chief Ruben Quesada, Lt. Thomas Hennessey, Capt. Joseph Kable and Acting Capt. Jonathan Loyte presented data on traffic safety before the Select Board Wednesday night. The officers proposed the construction of 20 speed tables, or platform-shaped speed bumps, throughout common speeding areas in town.
Quesada said since 2021, the department has used a multi-pronged approach for traffic enforcement through public education programs on dangerous driving, speed boards to locate areas where drivers typically speed, and decoy police vehicles.
“I’m sure everyone in this room has had a family member or friend who has been struck during a motor vehicle accident,” Quesada said. “I was struck by a drunk driver while on duty as a police officer. I’ve had friends killed by drunk drivers. This is about community safety and pedestrian safety.”
Data collected from speed boards, Loyte said, helped police identify dangerous driving hotspots at Stetson Avenue, Pine Street, Franklin Avenue, and Humphrey Street. He reported that between 2021 and 2022, Swampscott Police increased its number of issued citations by more than 200.
Kable presented the speed tables as a way to make Swampscott roads more pedestrian-friendly before warmer months bring increased traffic to the area.
“Though certainly enforcement is an important component of safety, we spent a lot of time engineering our streets to move cars quickly and effectively. Now we find that to be a less desirable situation,” Kable said. “We find that engineering to make our streets more pedestrian friendly and slow down cars is a new goal.”
Kable proposed installation of speed tables at the intersection of Stetson Avenue and Barnstable Street, a location preceding the intersection of Stetson Avenue and Franklin Avenue, and near the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Suffolk Avenue. He proposed one speed table at the crosswalk near Clarke School, and others near the intersections of Norfolk and Middlesex Avenues.
On Humphrey Street, Kable proposed six speed tables — three downtown, and three on Humphrey Street near Phillips Park. He proposed two speed tables at Puritan Road, two at Forest Avenue, one a Burpee Road, one at Redington Street past Stone Court, and two on Pine Street.
When Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher asked what the community could expect from the installation of speed tables, Hennessey said that he lives off Valley Street in Salem, where prior to the installation of a speed table, 96 percent of traffic was exceeding the speed limit.
“After the tables were put in, there was almost total compliance, and I believe the average speed was far below the limit,” Hennessey said.
Select Board Member Peter Spellios said he wanted to make sure the town was not going from “zero to 60” by investing in the infrastructure before doing enough research to show that it would positively impact traffic safety.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said the tables would cost anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000 each. He said the town aimed to install 10 speed tables by the end of the summer, but wanted to delay further action until after Town Meeting on May 15.
Fitzgerald added that although residents will likely complain about the inconveniences that come with the new infrastructure, it was necessary to ensure pedestrian and driver safety in Swampscott.
“You need to change the infrastructure if you want to slow people down,” Fitzgerald said. “Pedestrian safety is a priority, and we’ll need to make some of these investments.”
