For the record, the story on the Ayer Road speed limit that appeared in last week’s Press (see “Police chief says…”) gives the appearance that my opinion is that the 40 mph speed limit is appropriate. The determination of the appropriate speed limit is based on guidelines set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, not by the arbitrary opinion of the police chief. My role was to gather data and to determine what the speed limit would be under those guidelines. What I reported was the result of the application of those guidelines. We are in the process of looking at speeds townwide to determine where current speed limits do not meet those guidelines. Speed control is a three-pronged process. First is education, second is engineering, and third is enforcement. We are in the education phase. We have to educate ourselves regarding the current environment, then pass that information to the public. Once that is done, we will look at engineering, or how environmental changes can affect any problems identified. We will continue to enforce the speed limits throughout town; however, enforcement is only a temporary fix.
Edward D. Denmark, chief
Harvard Police Department
