MASSACHUSETTS PAGE

Route 9 at Speen Street is a limited access highway with a 40 MPH speed limit. It is also Natick's favorite speed trap, where town police profit from motorists traveling at safe speeds.

State law says the speed limit on a divided highway outside a thickly settled or business district is 50 MPH. If an authority wants to change the limit, it must first do an engineering study following standards set by the Highway Department and the federal government.

MassHighway doesn't have an engineering study justifying a speed limit reduction. This section of Route 9 was upgraded to a limited access highway in the 1970s, but the state kept the 40 MPH speed limit from the old road. They don't even have an engineering study justifying the reduced speed limit on the old road!

What they do have is an engineering study showing that the speed limit should be higher. Following a request from the National Motorists Association, MassHighway District 3 did an engineering study on Route 9 in Natick and found that the speed limit should be 55 MPH at Speen Street. However, the Highway Department did not act on this recommendation. Although this is a state highway, they feel that the speed limit should not be changed unless the town wants a change.

And what Natick wants is to heavily enforce this illegal speed limit.

Motorists beware!
(2004)

Last year MassHighway finally raised the speed limit on Route 9 in Natick, decades after they lowered it so they could appear to do something in response to an accident. The speed limit increase severely impacted the Natick police department's favorite speed trap at the Speen Street interchange. So they found a new angle. There's an advisory 35 mile per hour speed where the lanes shift due to some construction. Natick police decided to enforce that suggested speed as if it were the speed limit.

Motorists beware!
(2006)