Acton Select Board backs townwide traffic-calming policy; staff to return final draft on consent
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Summary
After a presentation by Town Engineer Chinray Peng, the Acton Select Board signaled support for a formal traffic-calming policy establishing submission, evaluation and staging procedures for resident requests and a new PACE CAR program; staff will finalize wording and return the policy on a future consent agenda.
Chinray Peng, the town engineer, presented a draft traffic-calming policy to the Acton Select Board on March 17, describing a multi-step, data-driven process for handling resident requests and staged interventions.
Peng told the board the policy defines traffic calming as physical measures that alter driver behavior and improve conditions for nonmotorized users and sets minimum eligibility criteria (town-owned residential roadway, minimum roadway length or demonstrated routine speeding, majority residential frontage, posted speed limit 40 mph or less). She said the policy would use a scoring sheet and a two-stage approach: low-cost, easily deployed measures (stage 1) such as speed-monitoring trailers, signage or enforcement; more physical street changes (stage 2) such as chicanes, curb extensions or mini roundabouts if stage 1 is ineffective.
The draft requires neighborhood petition support (Peng said staff would generally seek signatures from 75% of property owners in the subject area before advancing a petition) and sets a six-month follow-up evaluation period after each implementation stage. Peng also described a proposed PACE CAR sticker program for voluntary resident participation to promote safer driving behavior.
Board members asked about Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) involvement, cost and staffing for traffic studies, and how the policy would interface with sidewalk and Complete Streets prioritization. Peng and staff said most technical screening and data collection would be done by town engineering and Public Works staff using in-house equipment (traffic counters), but that outside consultants could be hired if workload required it. Staff also said sidewalk requests would continue to follow the existing sidewalk/Complete Streets prioritization processes and could be coordinated with traffic-calming projects when a broader project makes sense.
Select Board members generally supported the policy in principle and asked staff to refine language and scoring details. The board agreed the policy should be returned with minor edits and placed on a future consent agenda for formal action. Staff also said they plan outreach and initial implementation steps this year, and that they expect to begin accepting requests after finalization and public posting of the application materials.
