By RUSSELL JONES
Following a citizen’s complaint last May that cars were traveling too fast in front of her home, the Pittsford Selectboard is considering whether the lower the speed limit along a portion of Furnace Road.
In May, Pittsford resident Abby Marzec-Gerrior said she was worried for the safety of her eight-year-old son while waiting for the bus, and also when pulling out of her driveway onto the road.
At that time, Town Manager John Haverstock said that a traffic study would need to be conducted before the town could lower the speed limits. The speed limit is 30 mph in the area up to the police academy, but goes up to 35 mph just past there.
The traffic study has come back, Haverstock said, and showed an average speed for motorists through the area of 32 mph.
Haverstock said that a VTrans accident history report showed one accident in the past 10 years and that one included property damage along with inclement weather.
“That doesn’t mean that we couldn’t consider more or better signage,” Haverstock told the board.
Marzec-Gerrior said that when she goes through the area, she doesn’t speed up to 35 because her house sits right there, which she said, “ticks off” the drivers behind her. This causes them to try to pass her creating an unsafe condition.
“I’ve called and complained, it’s frustrating because I have an eight-year-old who I don’t want to take the bus because of that corner,” she said.
“It’s unfortunate that the 35 mile an hour sign is there,” responded selectman David Mills, “especially right where it is because it’s on that hill and you see that sign and you step on it.”
Mills questioned if they could move the sign further down the road, but Haverstock informed him that just moving the sign would not change the speed limit in the town ordinance.
“If it’s from 30 from Route 7 to the police academy, can we extend that another quarter of a mile,” chair Tom Hooker said. “That’s what we need to look into.”
The town’s speed limit is 35 mph, unless posted otherwise, according to Haverstock.
“A good example is Pleasant Street, by the school,” Hooker said. “That little road from the fire station by the school is 35.”
The board agreed to look into what needed to be done to change the speed limits on the road.
“It’s kind of a mystery,” Haverstock said. “Why 30 if it’s 35 and who moved the sign? I wouldn’t lose any sleep if it was elsewhere.”
