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Residents and council weigh traffic-calming after collisions, mailbox damage on Bear Hill Road
Summary
At the Feb. 5 Cumberland Town Council meeting, a resident described two recent incidents on Bear Hill Road and urged the council to pursue speed mitigation. Police described recent speed studies showing modest average overages but acknowledged outlier high speeds; councilors discussed speed humps, signage and cameras.
At the Feb. 5 Cumberland Town Council meeting, resident Patrick Costa told the council he has logged two major incidents since moving to Bear Hill Road in August 2024 — one in which his mailbox and entry stones were destroyed and a Jan. 26 head-on collision near the Willow Street crest — and urged steps to reduce the safety risk for drivers and pedestrians.
Costa said the town’s traffic studies show repeated speed issues in the area. “The highest speed in that study was 45 miles per hour, 20 miles per hour over the speed limit,” he said, and he urged installation of calming measures such as temporary speed humps at the crest west of Willow and east of Ferncrest.
The council’s traffic study and the police chief’s briefing provided context the councilors cited in discussing next steps. The police chief told the council that the town’s automated speed studies recorded average speeds of about 25–28 mph in the 25 mph zone at multiple locations on Bear Hill Road, and that the 85th-percentile speeds recorded in separate studies were roughly 28–32 mph. He noted isolated high outliers — top speeds of 45 and 42 mph were recorded — but said, “I can tell you unequivocally that that accident had absolutely nothing to do with speed at all,” referring to the Jan. 26 crash, and described signs of distracted driving cited in the police report.
Councilors and the mayor discussed a range of mitigation options. Councilor Boyle said the town has not formally explored automated enforcement and suggested that a reputation for enforcement can change driver behavior: “Maybe having a little bit more of a reputation for a town you don’t wanna go speeding through wouldn’t be the worst thing.” Other councilors and the chief said options include temporary or permanent speed humps (which slow traffic differently than bumps), repainting/striping the roadway, relocating or installing radar speed feedback signs, targeted enforcement, and studying school-zone speed-camera statutes.
Chiefs and staff cautioned about tradeoffs: portable radar trailers are effective but can be hard to site on narrow sections of the road; speed humps can slow traffic but may have unintended consequences on adjacent blocks; additional officers for prolonged enforcement would require staffing increases. The mayor said he planned to discuss options with the chief and the traffic officer and evaluate cost and practicality.
Councilors asked staff to follow up. The chief said the department already runs periodic studies and enforcement efforts in the corridor and will work with Mr. Costa and the administration to evaluate short-term measures (signage, moving an existing flashing radar sign) and longer-term options (striping, permanent calming or camera-based enforcement if state law allows).
The discussion closed with councilors and the mayor indicating they would pursue further study, community input and a follow up with the police department; no formal vote or ordinance followed at the meeting.
