Log in links for this page
- This page, Request speed zoning, is offered by
- Massachusetts Department of Transportation
- Highway Division
Request speed zoning
Contacts
Highway District Offices
Phone
The Details of Request speed zoning
What you need to know for Request speed zoning
If you have a concern related to the speed of a roadway, whether state or municipally owned, MassDOT encourages you to reach out to your local officials. A request for speed zoning to the MassDOT District office must come directly from the authorized municipal official acting on behalf of the community’s residents, business owners and visitors.
Once a request is received, the process begins with a meeting between MassDOT, the municipality, the local police department, and safety officials. The municipality will submit proposed speed zones along with engineering justification and backup data. The MassDOT Highway District Office and the Traffic & Safety Engineering Section will review the data and determine the best course of action. If it is determined that the speed limit can be lowered, the new speed limit cannot be legally enacted unless it is first approved by the city/town body that governs the municipal traffic code and then signed off on by the MassDOT Highway Traffic & Safety Engineering Section and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Once all sign offs are completed, speed limit signs can be erected, and the speed limit is now enforceable.
Any changes to a posted speed limit not in conformance with this procedure is not legally enforceable by police.
What a municipality needs to do for Request speed zoning
Any city or town that wishes to establish a new or modify an existing special speed regulation should follow the detailed process found in the MassDOT Procedures for Speed Zoning. As a part of this request, the municipality is required to submit the following information to the pertinent MassDOT District Office as a part of the engineering study:
- Preliminary Study of Conditions
- Speed Calculations on Curves
- Speed Observations
- Recent Crash history
- Trial Runs at Locations
How to request Request speed zoning
The city or town should send all materials listed above, in writing, to their local MassDOT Highway District Office.