FAIRLEE—The Fairlee Selectboard is considering measures to lower traffic speeds around Lake Morey and improve pedestrian safety.
The town may lower the speed limit on Lake Morey Road from 30 to 25 mph during summer, add more speed limit signs, or install speed bumps in order to make the area safer for summer crowds, according to Fairlee Selectboard Member Peter Berger.
“There are really dangerous sections [of the road] that people don’t pay attention to,” Berger said. “Curbing behavior is difficult.”
Berger said that vehicles have rolled over on Lake Morey Road in recent years and expressed concern about the possibility of car accidents involving pedestrians.
“Observing the speed limit is all right, but you’ll pull around a corner and see a group of people you don’t expect,” Berger said.
Lake Morey is surrounded by two summer camps, a resort, a boat launch, a public beach, and several private summer homes, all of which contribute to a high volume of pedestrians on the road that surrounds it during the warmer months.
The Lake Morey Protective Association has been concerned about speed limits in recent years and is working with the town to determine what measures will be most effective, according to Berger.
In August 2019, the LMPA encouraged its members to contact the selectboard about repaving sections of the road and installing speed bumps, according to meeting minutes posted on the LMPA website.
The Town of Fairlee is also looking into collecting data on which sections of Lake Morey Road see the most speeding drivers, with the intent of putting up speed limit signs in those areas.
Currently, both the Fairlee Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department patrol and enforce speed limits on Lake Morey Road, and Fairlee police submit a monthly report on the road to the selectboard, Berger said.
The Fairlee Police Department could not be reached for comment. Newbury has recently introduced similar measures on a similar road near Halls Lake, which also has a boat launch, a public beach, and private summer homes. Currently, a highway crew installs temporary speed bumps along the road each summer, according to Newbury Selectboard Chair Alma Roystan.
Roystan said her town has been successful in addressing pedestrian safety at Halls Lake.
“I think [the speed bumps] have an enormous impact,” Roystan said. “Even if people do slow down, a lot of people don’t, and get pretty careless with their speed. This is one extra measure to help keep people safe.”
Roystan also expressed support for similar measures at Lake Morey.
“Personally, I think it could only help,” she said. “You just never know who or what is going to pop out in front of you.”
To view published article in the Journal Opinion, click here.
