BY JOSH DAVISNorth Country This Week

CANTON— The village of Canton will ask state lawmakers to help reduce the speed limit on U.S. Highway 11 following a recent unsuccessful attempt to do so through a state engineering study.

Village officials will request that State Senator Dan Stec and Assemblyman Scott Gray support Home Rule legislation that would allow the speed limit to be lowered from 55 to 40 mph on a two-mile stretch extending past the railroad trestle east of the village. 

The village and town of Canton have made a perennial effort to lower the speed limit on that section of road, citing safety concerns and increased traffic to and from new businesses on the highway.

Despite those concerns, engineers from the State Department of Transportation determined through a traffic study that such a change would not be warranted. Officials have made official requests three times to see the limit reduced from 55 to 40 miles per hour. Because Canton’s East Main Street is also U.S. 11, local officials do not have the final say in determining a speed limit there.

Village officials are now seeking a formal Home Rule request, which can allow municipalities to enact special laws pertaining to local affairs; though those laws are still subject to state preemption and must be supported by state representatives.  

The special legislation would make the village “authorized and empowered to lower the speed limit to 40 miles per hour on East Main Street” through a new local law. 

Previous attempts to lower the speed limit have so far been unfounded for Canton. 

In August, officials in Canton received a letter from New York State Department of Transportation Region 7 Director Robert Haynes, which included the findings of an engineering study of the speed limit on Route 11. 

That study determined that changing the speed limit may not make a significant difference in driver behavior if enacted. 

“Past studies show that just changing the signs to a lower speed limit will not compel most drivers to drive slower,” and rather “creates a safety concern, as most motorists will continue to drive at the speed that feels comfortable for the given segment of highway,” Haynes said. 

He added that those drivers that would slow down in response to a lower limit create a greater speed differential, which in turn leads to higher crash rates. 

The DOT said it would make improvements to signage and make changes to center line marking changes near the intersection of Cowan Road in response to the concerns raised by Canton officials.

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