Town officials are asking the state Traffic Commission to consider lowering the speed limit on Route 102 (Broncos Highway) in the wake of a four-car crash last month that killed 39-year-old Burrillville Firefighter Ryan J. Ferris.
Town Council President John Pacheco said at a meeting Wednesday that he received several phone calls and emails in the days following the accident from town residents concerned about the current speed limit on Route 102, which can range between 35 mph in school zones during certain times of the day and 40 mph on longer stretches of the roadway. Ferris, a Harrisville firefighter, died at a hospital after his car was struck from behind and became pinned under a box truck at the intersection of Broncos Highway and Route 107 (East Avenue) on March 13.
Pacheco and Councilman Dennis Anderson say a uniform speed limit of 35 mph might help reduce speeding on a road that has had a long history of accidents, many of them fatal.