BRISTOL — Bristol officials are continuing to explore ways to curb speeding and address safety concerns on roads throughout the village.

The Bristol selectboard on Dec. 16 reviewed traffic and village speed limit studies conducted by Addison County Regional Planning Commission Transportation Planner Mike Winslow this past fall. The effort consisted of looking into truck traffic on North Street and providing an updated speed limit engineering study to reduce village speed limits.

The selectboard has previously considered whether to lower the village speed limit to 25 mph, though a previous speed study conducted several years ago didn’t support lowering the speed limit on some of the roads town officials had identified.

VILLAGE SPEED LIMIT

Winslow’s study found that a 25 mph speed limit for most of the village would be reasonable, with Plank Road and the northern section of North Street as possible exceptions.

“Typically, VTrans does not recommend village-wide speed limits, but the data for the streets where I have collected data support that for most of it,” Winslow told the board. “As you go out North Street, speeds increase; it doesn’t support it there as much. Main Street, you might want to consider keeping it a little higher because it is such a major thoroughfare, but for ease of ordinance it is possible for all those smaller neighborhoods to have speed limits around 25; that would be supported.”

The speed data analysis was conducted on North Street from Sept. 20-27 and analyzed 20,928 vehicles. The study found that the average speed was 27 mph and the 85th percentile speed was 31 mph.

Selectboard member Ian Albinson pointed out that previous ACRPC studies found that drivers were going below 30 mph on most village roads.

“The big worry when we began this discussion a few years ago was Pine Street, and the data that those tests showed was that people were going under 30 (mph), which meant it’s a good candidate for lowering the speed limit,” Albinson said. “You need to demonstrate speeds that are lower than your speed limit to then say ‘Hey, you can lower it to 25 (mph).’”

It was noted that it’s important to identify the specific problem town officials are trying to address, as drivers may continue to speed regardless of if the speed limit is lowered.

“It seems like from the data — both newly collected data here and our previous — is that it’s a few bad actors within the amount, but unfortunately those are what’s remembered most of the time and that’s what brings concern, especially on Pine,” Albinson said.

Selectboard member Jessica Teets explained that town officials have received complaints from various groups, such as families with young children, who want to see the town be walkable and safe for pedestrians.

She pointed to a handful of spots around town that have raised safety concerns, including a crosswalk near North and Pleasant streets, a main intersection for foot traffic to and from Bristol Elementary School.

“I think that there are certain parts of the town that aren’t working for people who are biking and walking, and those are the things that we should be paying attention to because those are people who are using it every day and they say there’s a problem,” Teets said.

Selectboard members suggested a few different measures that could be taken to address concerns, such as strategic placement of solar powered radar speed signs or installing a pushbutton crosswalk sign with lights at the Pleasant and North streets crosswalk.

“I don’t necessarily think the speed limit change is going to do that much. I think there are other ways to do it,” Albinson said.

Teets also supported taking multiple steps.

“You do all these things together,” she said. “Like get the light, we reduce the speed, we do the advisory striping, and we educate people.”

The selectboard also discussed the results of Winslow’s truck traffic study, which found that truck traffic on North Street was not excessive compared to other streets in town.

“Looking at other data, there’s no more truck traffic in Bristol compared to other towns in Addison County from what information I’m able to gather,” Winslow said.

Town officials noted the time of year has an impact on truck traffic in Bristol, as there were more trucks passing through town following storms this summer, for example.

TOWN ADMINISTRATOR SUPPORT

Bristol selectboard members on Dec. 16 also approved a proposed agreement to contract with former Bristol Town Administrator Valerie Capels for support as needed. Capels’s last day was Dec. 20.

Bristol officials are in the process of filling the position, and in the meantime, Albinson has stepped in as interim town administrator.

“During this period of transition and perhaps beyond, I would like to offer my assistance on an as-needed, as-available, contract basis,” Capels’s wrote in the proposed agreement. “Services may include orientation, project support, project management, grant administration, audit support, or other assistance as needed.”