Kraton Manning recommends villagewide 25 mph limit; board weighs exceptions for Wards, Simmons Lanes

Menands Village heard a presentation March 16 from Kraton Manning engineer Mark Sergeant recommending a villagewide speed limit of 25 miles per hour, with Wards Lane identified as an exception because its characteristics did not meet the study’s enforcement and engineering criteria.

Sergeant said updated state vehicle and traffic law allows municipalities to set speed limits as low as 25 mph after an engineering study and that Kraton Manning applied guidance from the Federal Highway Administration, NYSDOT, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and professional traffic‑engineering practice. “In all instances except one, people are already traveling around 25 miles an hour or lower,” Sergeant told the board, concluding that a villagewide 25 mph limit is consistent with observed speeds and accepted engineering practice.

The recommendation led to focused questions from board members about specific streets. Board members raised Simmons Lane as a potential exception because it is wider and carries truck traffic; neighbors and staff noted that pavement condition currently slows drivers. Kraton Manning said Simmons is short and constrained and recommended additional engineering review before treating it differently; Labella (the village’s engineering contractor) was identified as the firm that will examine Simmons and the Broadway/Simmons intersection and propose measures such as limiting inbound trailer traffic.

School‑zone limits were a central point of the discussion. Board members asked whether the village could adopt a 20 mph school zone on Wards Lane; staff and the consultant said DOT would perform required engineering work and signage placement and has offered to help with engineering costs. The consultant emphasized safety gains from lower speeds, noting a substantial improvement in survivability at reduced collision speeds: “There’s an enormous impact of five miles an hour,” Sergeant said.

Staff also discussed implementation logistics: Mike (staff) said the village will need roughly four dozen new signs to post a villagewide 25 mph limit and is preparing a sign‑posting plan; enforcement considerations included whether local police could issue citations more effectively if the signed limit is lower and whether automated camera programs would be practical for a single village zone.

What’s next: the board scheduled a public hearing on the local traffic law changes for April 6 to allow formal public comment and to complete required local procedures. Staff and consultants will refine the block‑by‑block recommendation (including a closer look at Simmons Lane) and provide a draft local law and signage plan for the hearing.