I would piggy back right on this thread for Golden Ave as well. Residents only in the mornings and afternoon and enforcement will cut down the traffic.

Traffic Unit acknowledges issue.

SGT Charles Hartnett u xilsaaray arrinkan SGT Charles Hartnett

SGT Charles Hartnett u xilsaaray arrinkan Alva - Traffic Commission

Any restrictions of street usage must go before the Medford Traffic Commission. You can begin the process by calling them at (781) 391-6409.

Can you confirm then that the Medford Traffic Commission does not participate in this SeeClickFix system?

I have seen that I can save a lot of gas and pollute less by anticipating, as well as reducing braking. With my previous car, a 1997 Mirage, I once went 660 miles on a 13.2-gallon (50-liter) tank of gas (it almost stalled as the last few drops swished to the side in the gas tank as I arrived completely “Empty” at Finocetti’s gas station in Arlington). I did it by following the advice of the owner’s manual: to get the best mileage, keep speeds around 50 MPH. That worked out to 50 MPG. Several times, I was able to repeat that (50 MPG) though I only once went that far (660 miles on a single tank of gas. And it wasn’t all highway driving, of course. That car was rated at 40 MPG highway (34 MPG city) on the EPA sticker when I got it new. If I had reduced my braking as much as I do now, I certainly could have done better.

Now, I drive a 2010 Civic. The mileage ratings are different because the Federal Government has since increased the national speed limit from the 55 MPH that it was back then. Nevertheless, I recently measured my mileage and it was 43 MPG using “Super.” The EPA rating is 34 MPG highway.

I have determined that the optimal speed for best fuel economy is probably less than 50 MPH: more like 49.5 MPH.

I'll say this about one of those unmanned radar signs: If I thought about it, I suppose I would think: I don’t enjoy being “zapped” by it every time I drive there. But the intent of it aligns with my values, with respect to the environment (air and water) and safety. There is one such radar on the southbound side of route 38 in Medford near the deer crossing by Oak Grove Cemetery, just as you cross into Medford (where it becomes Winthrop Street). A few hundred yards north of that (in Winchester) there is a school, where I believe the speed limit (by law) is 20 MPH - at least during school hours, or hours when children would be expected to be coming or going to the school. And there is no "End of School Zone" sign, so I suppose (technically) the speed limit is 20 MPH right up to the town line/city limits of Medford, although many drivers would, and do, speed up some once they are beyond the school.

But, then as you cross into Medford there is one of those “25 MPH Citywide Unless Otherwise Posted” signs. You would have to been going even slower, only 18 MPH at the top of that very gentle hill (the peak of it is physically right at the town line/city limits) to (without braking) not be going over the speed limit - if you simply coast/roll - due to gravity and the downslope, as you pass the radar sign. I always try to do it! I admit sometimes I am going faster than 18 MPH as I cross into Medford from Winchester there.

I then usually bare right onto Playstead Road, which is an even more gradual downslope - it looks, essentially flat. But it slopes down all the way to the vicinity of the playing fields. It is possible to anticipate the stop sign and coast to a complete stop at High Street, with perhaps a tap of the brakes along the way. So, all that anticipation serves me well: I wouldn’t get there any faster by not doing it, because my destination is High Street in West Medford, where there is usually at least some traffic.

Here is what I wanted to say: going so slowly (to anticipate speed limits at the bottom of a hill or to roll to a complete stop (without braking) annoys other drivers. I see it all the time. Many beep or shout something. Many cross the double yellow line and then speed to pass me. Some appreciate that I am “forcing” them to do it too, and patiently follow.

As I enter Medford, if I am doing about 18 MPH at that spot, by the time I pass the electronic radar, without braking, it will be flashing 25 (MPH). I believe the road there was designed for speeds of 40 MPH and a legal speed limit of 30 MPH. It is perhaps customary to go up to 10 MPH above the speed limit. Certainly, if you were going 30 MPH in Winchester, beyond the school, and didn’t brake, you would be going close to 40 MPH by the time you got to Playstead Road on Winthrop Street.

But the intent of the new speed limits is really positive! If people are arriving at a stop ahead, even if they haven't yet seen it, if they are anticipating it, even if that anticipation is by a regulation (lower speed limit) it will reduce braking and pollution from braking and unnecessarily burned gasoline.
Safety is a huge issue too. It seems that there are more people now. When I took drivers education back in 1980, not only did I go on the road with an instructor (in Woburn) but we also had several hours of classroom time. During one evening class we watched a movie which was filmed in Ohio in the 1950's which showed footage of several real-life fatal car accidents (after the state police had arrived on the scene). The purpose was (by graphically shocking the viewer) to instill a real appreciation of the dangers of the automobile. We also watched another (more recent) movie with a camera mounted on the dashboard of a car that was driving across a city. In it, they demonstrated that driving aggressively (speeding, etc.) doesn't necessarily get you there any faster.

I think the reduce speed limits in Medford are a very good idea. Why not extend it to other roads such as the highways? Perhaps we could lobby for 40 MPH instead of 55 MPH. That way even speeders who go less than 10 MPH over the speed limit wouldn't be driving "too fast" with respect to the environment. Perhaps with that taken into account 45 MPH on the highway might be good. To me 50 means 50. Only because I believe it makes the most sense (on a divided highway). But of course, sometimes time is an issue.