Andover now has 40 roads where the speed limit is 25 MPH or lower after the select board voted Tuesday to add 16 to the list approved at Annual Town Meeting in May.
Noticeably absent from the list: Lovejoy Road.
In the year between Aug. 18, 2022 and Thursday, there were four crashes on Lovejoy Road, according to MassDOT data. The road, which has a speed limit of 40 MPH, cuts through a densely-populated neighborhood and past Sanborn Elementary School. Drivers often use it as a cut through to and from Dascomb Road when Interstate 93 is backed up.
Andover DPW Director Chris Cronin said the road had been considered when the Town looked at additional roads where the speed limit could be lowered. But, ultimately, officials worried reducing the speed limit would create a new issue: the road’s existing layout would not “encourage speeds of 25 MPH.”
“It’s easy to say we put up a 25 mile per hour speed limit sign, but if the folks aren’t going to abide by that speed limit sign, it becomes quite dangerous for a car to be going 25 and someone else to be going 40 or trying to pass that or going 25 and maybe going to speeds far in excess of 40 miles an hour,” Cronin said.
Lovejoy is among 29 roads in thickly settled districts with special speed regulations on file with MassDOT that supersede local regulations. A complete list of the 29 streets with special speed regulations is available on the Town’s Website.
Town officials considered a total of 34 roads with MassDOT before presenting 16 for the select board to vote on. The 16 streets the select board voted to lower the limit are:
- Abbot Bridge Drive
- Algonquin Avenue
- Andover Street
- Argilla Road
- Ballardvale Road
- Beacon Street
- Brundrett Avenue
- Central Street
- Eastman Road
- Elm Street
- High Street
- Lupine Road
- School Street
- Salem Street
- Shawsheen Road
- Woburn Street
File photo of Sanborn School/Andover Public Schools.
Lovejoy Rd not included in reduced speed zones because Cronin said “they feared lowing the speed limit may actually pose more danger” due to the pavement and geometry of the road. Drivers will speed and pass slower cars, so we can’t reduce the speed to 25mph- this is the rational? Let’s allow illegal use of the road; sounds like there isn’t faith in the drivers or the patrols to maintain the law. I thought that there was an agreement to make use of the streets equitable for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Not on Lovejoy Rd., apparently. Commuters over residents is the rule.
How can we trust our leaders to make us safer when this is their rational?
I thought the max speed on Lovejoy was 35?? Then there is the 20mph zone for the elementary… is that enforced anywhere near schools?? Never see patrols out for that. I do see them like clock work on Andover/Clark street near the Ballardvale station. They’re also always camped out in the church parking lot on Clark. High traffic roads for commuters. The only people that abide by the 25mph are those with the signs in the yards… I’m constantly being tailgated when driving 25 because of some impatient people. Like what gives, grow up!
You’re absolutely correct that the current maximum speed limit on Lovejoy is 35mph. Sounds like Cronin’s giving a free pass for folks to speed 5mph over the limit. If he thinks a car driving on Lovejoy at 25mph is dangerous, I wonder what he thinks about a kid on a bicycle going 10 or 15!
Right! ;I also wonder what he thinks about a senior resident trying to cross the street to walk his dog. It took months to have the pedestrian walkway signs put up. We are still waiting for police patrols (especially the week before school starts) to monitor–according to the police log we haven’t had citations written in a few months. I assume Lovejoy is one of the most vehicular-used streets in town, and should, therefore, be monitored more frequently. We would like some answers! If the geometry of the road needs to be altered, just add some “raised tables” to slow cars down. Frankly, eventually cars will be manufactured to maintain the proper speed limits-we cannot wait!