TRAFFIC

TRAFFIC COMMITTEE

by Doug Moran, Chairman

Police Enforcement

The primary patrol officer for Barron Park, Jennifer Jones, is spending an increased amount of time on traffic enforcement in the neighborhood, focusing on stop sign violations and speeding. Her ability to catch speeders has been impaired by the visibility of her patrol car, but she is scheduled to switch to a motorcycle in the coming months.

Representatives of the BPA meet monthly with the Police Dept to discuss status and priorities, and one of the topics is always traffic. The police have been very responsive to neighborhood concerns, once they are aware of the problem. The more details we pass on to the police, the easier it is for them to be in the right place at the right time. For example, one problem that comes and goes is auto mechanics using the major neighborhood streets to test cars, often at high speeds. When the police become aware of this, they talk to the service managers, and then attempt to catch continuing violators. This substantially reduces the problem, typically for months. However, they need us (residents) to tell them when the problem returns.

Civilian Radar Program

The police program to loan radar to residents is in progress. Interested residents can apply, and if selected, will be loaned a radar gun for a 5-day period spanning a weekend. A short training course is required. The radar monitor has two functions: to determine how much speeding there actually is, and to have warning letters sent by the police to the owners of vehicles going more than 10 mph over the posted limit. Note: the 10mph margin applies only to warning letters for the civilian radar program, not police tickets.

(See printed edition of this newsletter for more details on this report -- see Newsletter index page for more information on how to join the BPA and receive four complete quarterly newsletters)


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