Politics & Government

Council Member: Drivers Nearly 'Incapable' of Obeying Kings Road Speed Limit

The residential road parallel to Main Street has one of the highest incidents of speeding in borough.

Kings Road is on the Chatham Borough Police Department's radar—literally.

The department has spent several months monitoring the behavior of motorists along Kings Road, which runs south of Main Street from Lafayette Avenue west into Madison. For cars heading eastbound into Chatham, the speed limit drops from 30 to 25 miles per hour at Division Avenue, the border between the two boroughs.

Despite the high number of residences along the road, the street does not have sidewalks and the only pedestrian crosswalk is located at the intersection with Lafayette Avenue.

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to James Collander, the Chatham Borough Council's liaison to the Traffic Safety Committee, residents have complained that few motorists obey the street's 25-mile-per-hour limit.

"People simply almost are incapable of going 25 miles per hour on that road," Collander said.

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police officers have had several stints stationed in driveways monitoring the speed of passing vehicles at the request of residents along the road. Earlier this year, police placed a speed monitor on the road that flashes a motorist's speed and the actual speed limit.

"We've [also] put barrels out on Kings Road," Collander said. The Police Department placed two barrels on each side of the roadway at two different locations along Kings Road. The barrels narrow the roadway, which Collander said is used as a tool to slow down motorists.

The two-lane road is also often obstructed by cars parked on the side of the road, which can make it difficult for two cars to pass at the same time.

The committee has been working with Officer Robert Sweetin to collect data from Kings Road about how fast cars travel on the road.

"We're waiting for the data to be downloaded and used for [the next committee] meeting," Collander said.

With the barrels out on Kings Road, Collander said, "we have to take radar readings to determine if they are effective in reducing the speed of cars."

The speeding data has been collected over several weeks at various times of day.

The meeting of the Traffic Safety Committee was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but has been postponed to July 6.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here