Town wants speed limit reduced near McDonald’s

By Dan King

Some residents and town officials in Whitehall are concerned with the speed of vehicles on Route 4 in front of McDonald’s and the town is asking the state to take action.

Huletts Landing resident Stiling Knight came down to the board last Wednesday to ask officials to consider some kind of preventative measure to slow down travelers on that portion of Route 4.

“The road from Whitehall to Fort Ann is very dangerous,” Knight told the board. “It’s a very dangerous road in my opinion. It’s the most dangerous road I know of.”

Knight referred to a June 1 motor vehicle accident at the location, that took the life of a Hadley woman and left five others injured, as the prime example of why action needs to be taken to slow down vehicles at this location.

“The three men from Vermont in the other car could have easily been killed too if they didn’t brace themselves for impact, it’s a dangerous road,” Knight added.

He also mentioned an accident a few years ago that killed four men.

Ultimately, town officials decided to send a letter to the state Department of Transportation to either lower the speed limit of have flashing lights put on the current 45 mph signs, so drivers will pay more attention and slow down.

However, they pointed out that it may not receive a quick response.

“It’s going to take a while to hear from the state,” Highway Superintendent Louis Pratt said. “We sent them some resolutions for other roads back in November and haven’t heard back yet. It’s time consuming to get stuff done with the state. We do have Dan Stec and Betty Little very much on our side though.”