BELCHERTOWN — Speed limits on town-controlled roads in thickly settled areas or business zones might see a decrease by five miles per hour, dropping from 30 mph to 25 mph, if approved at the annual Town Meeting.

Police Chief Kevin Pacunas and Department of Public Works Director Linda Leduc asked the Select Board this week to accept the provision of the Municipal Modernization Act of 2016 to lower speed limits on statutory roads to help curb speeding in town.

While Select Board members questioned how effective the action is at managing speeding, especially when the worst instances occur on state roads and highways outside of the town’s control, Pacunas and Leduc said this is a local option that can be implemented quickly to help reduce road speeds.

“From my standpoint, what I’m hoping is by lowering the speed limit by five, it’s going to lower the cars by five,” Pacunas said. “You can’t be everywhere at all times, and the speeding complaints, I’m getting a few a week.”

The proposal will not affect any roads marked with white speed limit signs. Rather, 16 yellow speed limit signs will be placed on statutory “thickly settled” roads and entrances to town. State law defines “thickly settled” as an area where houses are less than 200 feet apart or where businesses line at least a quarter mile of road. Roads such as Dressel Avenue, Bay Road, Metacomet Street, Aldrich Street, Rural Road, Barton Road and Michael Sears Road fall under this categorization.

“Right now, the signs are yellow, thickly settled, and then underneath is a separate 30 mile an hour,” Leduc said. “The proposal would be to remove the 30s, leave the thickly settled, and then, of course, we would be posting on the town boundaries.”

Regulatory roads, marked by the white speed limits signs, are regulated by Massachusetts Department of Transportation, so the process to change a speed limit requires an engineering study, special approval from local and MassDOT authorities and review from the Registration of Motor Vehicles plus Safety Engineering Section.

Meanwhile, local municipalities have much more control over statutory roads, whose speed limits are loosely defined as “reasonable and proper.” Cars in school zones, for instance, cannot go faster than 20 mph, and vehicles traveling on a road outside of a residential area can travel up to 40 mph.

Pacunas noted that Ludlow adopted this provision, and a lieutenant who spoke with him said there were no issues or complaints about the change. The Ludlow Police Department, however, did not provide any data on the influence the change has had on speeding in town, but statewide studies have shown positive impacts on public safety: a Massachusetts 2014 Health Impact Assessment found that lowering the default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph would prevent about 18 fatalities and 1,200 serious injuries a year.

“Well, obviously the numbers are going to be smaller when it applies to us,” Pacunas said, “but our car insurance is based on car thefts, car crashes, all those go into it. So I think this does lessen car crashes. It’s going to save our town residents money on their insurance.”

Pacunas was unable to provide data on car crashes on statutory roads at the meeting, but he does receive frequent calls complaining about speeding along residential roads without sidewalks.

“People want to feel safe when they’re walking on the streets and when a car flies by, they don’t feel safe,” he said. “This can slow the cars down, whether it has impact on crashes or not.”

Select Board Member Lesa Lessard Pearson mentioned her own experience walking down South Street toward South Washington Street to avoid the cars whizzing by. Leduc added that most complaints from speeding are from residents walking dogs or baby carriages who report feeling unsafe walking next to the fast cars.

“I’m willing to vote for it, just because I know how much the town has grown, and I don’t think the roads are getting wider,” Select Board Chair Edward Boscher said.

Over the year, the Belchertown Police Department has instituted several programs to reduce speeding, such as traffic enforcement grants, a speed board and a motorcycle unit, but the issue still persists.

“After 30 years of working in our department, speeding has been a problem on day one and today,” Pacunas said. “So any technology or laws that come across, I think we should take advantage.”

Town Meeting will need to approve the new speed limits in May before the DPW will make and post signs.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.