| Author | Message | ||
     squeeks Citizen Username: Squeeks Post Number: 21 Registered: 8-2001 |
So many people speed through our town, and not just on the main streets. What ever happened to the police setting up speed traps to teach these disrespectful drivers a lesson. How about on Prospect Street for a start!. Can't the town offset some of its huge operating costs by fining these idiots, or does every dollar raised cost a dollar, or more to prosecute. And what about the deplorable condition of sidewalks in our town. It is almost impossible to walk safely or push a child's stroller on so many sidewalks. Walking at night is definitely "at your own risk." Why has the township given up on citing these homeowners and trying to get some of the hazards cleaned up. Even without the town's involvement - homeowners who let there sidewalks become dangerous to the public - SHOULD BE ASHAMED!! Both of these issues affect quality of life in this wonderful town. I am truly puzzled why the township does not take some action in these matters. Surely, with all the taxes we pay, there is a way to fit it into the police department's oh so busy schedule and there must be at least a few over worked township employess that could volunteer a few hours a week to get out there and cite a few hundred home owners. Mayor Profeta, et all. get off your chairs and get to work. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2804 Registered: 9-2001 |
"there must be at least a few over worked township employess that could volunteer a few hours a week to get out there and cite a few hundred home owners." I like your spirit Squeeks... so, seeing as how the township employees I've seen working long and hard hours, and the Mayor and the rest of the committee often burning the mid-night oil, why don't YOU get off your computer and volunteer a few hours a week to get out there and cite a few hundred home owners. You could also list some plate numbers. Honestly, print the list of violators on-line. I agree, THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED!! | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 3365 Registered: 5-2001 |
Sqeeks: Believe it or not, our over-worked municipal staff rely on citizens, such as yourself, to notify the town when you encounter a sidewalk in really bad repair. The town will send someone out to inspect the sidewalk and verify your complaint. If they concur, they will cite the homeowner. Regarding speeding: I have frequently seen police officers pull over the drivers of vehicles speeding on Prospect Street but they cannot be doing moving violation duty on Prospect Street all the time. Once again, if you really care about this problem, you can made a citizen's complaint. Just be sure to note the license plate number and description of the vehicle. It would also help to have some way of verifying the speed at which the vehicle was going when you clocked it. Better yet, why not look into joining the Police Auxiliary. They posted a request for volunteers not too long ago. Check the attic or call the non-emergency number for the police department for more information. | ||
| us2inFL Citizen Username: Us2innj Post Number: 1107 Registered: 5-2001 |
Has anything been done to repair the road surface on Maplewood Avenue? Just one of those things I use to bust the DPW's nuts about when we lived there. | ||
| Cedar Citizen Username: Cedar Post Number: 142 Registered: 10-2002 |
I live on Jefferson Ave., and frequently travel Ridgewood or Walton with an a a***ole too close behind me; your suggestions? I've been nearly rear-ended and/or honked at when slowing with signals to turn into my own driveway! And when these quality of life violatiosn occur on Jefferson by township vehciles speeding back to their home-base, to whom do we report these violations? It happens all too often. | ||
| Soda Citizen Username: Soda Post Number: 1624 Registered: 5-2001  |
Cedar: Try commencing your turn signal half a block BEFORE your intended turn, and any would-be tailgaters will magically back off, and allow you to enter your driveway (or whatever) unimpeded. Works for me... -s  | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 5951 Registered: 5-2001 |
We live off Ridgewood and for a couple of years the police often set up radar traps, especially on weekends. I haven't noticed this so far in 2004. | ||
| LibraryLady(ncjanow) Citizen Username: Librarylady Post Number: 1623 Registered: 5-2001  |
Soda, sure. I live on Wyoming and luckily the road widens near my driveway so the tailgaters who NEVER notice my turn signal as I approach my driveway have a place to swerve into when I commence my turn. | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 598 Registered: 11-2001  |
LL: Did you know the Jacobsens? They sold their Wyoming residence a few years back. Their son, John, was my grammar school best friend when they lived on Turrell - across from Marshall School. | ||
| witness Citizen Username: Witness Post Number: 6 Registered: 9-2003 |
Everyone’s anecdotal observations about traffic enforcement are on the mark. Traffic enforcement is, indeed, way down in our town. Here are the counts of moving violations issued during the last three fiscal years in Maplewood, according to the state court system: 2002 3,506 2003 3,367 2004 2,682 That's a drop of 24% during the last two years. South Orange, for sake of comparison, issued 4,271 moving violations in FY2004, up a stunning 154% from the year before. The full statewide reports are available here: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/quant/munm0406.pdf http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/quant/munm0306.pdf Whatever is happening, it’s not because the cops are busy with some escalating crime wave. You’ll notice that other categories of crime were down 7% in FY04, after falling 8% in FY03. Driving habits don’t swing as widely as these numbers. Unless the number of officers is way down, it appears this is an issue of selective enforcement. So here’s my hypothesis. We have speeders because we have wide streets and little traffic enforcement. And it's not just the busier North-South streets like Wyoming, Prospect and Valley. Take a look at the East-West streets toward the train station, especially during the morning rush. Within 10 minutes of a train departure you'll see cars breaking 40 and 50 mph everyday on streets clearly marked 25 mph. What you won’t see is a cop with a radar gun. These are related phenomenon. And this is important stuff. Traffic accident studies have found that a pedestrian hit by a car traveling 20 mph has a 95% chance of survival. But if the car is moving at 40 mph, the survival rate drops to 20%. At 50 mph, a pedestrian has virtually no chance of survival. If you'd like to read a couple of pages on the topic from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, see "In pedestrian crashes, it’s vehicle speed that matters the most" at http://www.iihs.org/srpdfs/sr3505.pdf | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2811 Registered: 9-2001 |
"Unless the number of officers is way down, it appears this is an issue of selective enforcement." Your hypothesis is interesting, however, I believe the number of officers is about the same, and I find it difficult to believe that we have selective enforcement in town. So, is it possible that less enforcement means not only less traffic tickets but also less traffic accidents? Or, is it possible that Maplewood residents are just all around better and safer drivers? | ||
| witness Citizen Username: Witness Post Number: 7 Registered: 9-2003 |
AJC- Huh? Less enforcement means less accidents? Did you mean to suggest that the more passive our cops become the safer we will all be? Obviously, the answer is no. But maybe you intended to ask another question. As for your second question, you seem to suggest that the number of moving violations might be an indication of changing driving habits, rather than of changing enforcement patterns. That's a tough argument to make. I suspect South Orange drivers and Maplewood drivers are pretty much the same group of people, which would indicate that under similar enforcement levels the violations issued should move in generally the same direction each year. I also don't think it likely at all that South Orange drivers became twice as bad in 2004 than the year before, while Maplewood drivers suddenly became much better. You may find it difficult to believe, but law enforcement agencies set priorities like any other organization. Different enforcement initiatives come and go depending on a host of factors, including available resources, political priorities and managerial competence. Selective enforcement is just another term for setting priorities. If you glance at the brief Insurance Institute study I linked, you'll notice that traffic experts have found that posted speed limits have no effect without tough enforcement. A significant portion of the population will simply drive as fast as they can get away with. Here's a quote from the report: "Institute senior vice president Allan Williams explains that 'for enforcement to deter speeding, drivers must believe the enforcement efforts are being made in the specific locations where they drive and at the times when they drive there. Even the presence of enforcement isn’t enough. The consequences of getting stopped for speeding have to be meaningful enough to keep drivers from knowingly taking the risk.'” | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2812 Registered: 9-2001 |
"Even the presence of enforcement isn’t enough." Witness, this is the problem... Strict enforcement really doesn't always prevent the drunk, or the crazy kid who is pissed off at his girlfriend, or any number of other drivers who feel the need to speed or be reckless. These are the drivers who in more cases than not are our biggest problem. Yes, the statistics may show some small advantage, but the overall effect on the majority of mostly local law abiding drivers can be very anoying and costly. I feel our PD is doing a great job. I spend most of my time in town and I see them everywhere. FWIW, I prefer things the way they are. That is, our gentle, friendlier, Maplewood police force that issued 1,589 fewer tickets than our meaner, leaner, smaller, South Orange neighbor's... | ||
| witness Citizen Username: Witness Post Number: 8 Registered: 9-2003 |
AJC, I think you have selectively misread the quote you used to make your point. Williams said the presence of law enforcement without meaningful consequences has no effect. The consequences--an annoying ticket and steep fine--are his definition of strict enforcement. And there is really no debate among traffic experts that they work. I think it's a safer interpretation of Williams' point to say a considerable portion of the driving population is simply too self-absorbed to drive safely unless they think it's going to be costly -- and annoying -- to do otherwise. And if you track some serious traffic accidents, you will quickly recognize that drunks and crazy kids are not the bulk of the problem. The bulk of serious injury accidents are caused by good, law abidding people driving carelessly. I may be the only one, but I have no sympathy, and even less respect, for people who would feel annoyed if they should be ticketed for driving 40 mph or faster on a residential street posted at 25 mph. That is precisely the point. Finally, I'm having a hard time reconciling your 2,812th post with your 2,804th. In the earlier one, you said traffic law violators should be ashamed. In the later one, you suggest they should be left alone. Was one a joke? You must have been goofing in the first one, right? You know, the one in which you, at an average of 80-posts-a-month, suggested that Squeeks "get off her computer"? That was funny. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2813 Registered: 9-2001 |
OK, you got me... | ||
| Warm In Florida Citizen Username: Cfa Post Number: 1142 Registered: 5-2001  |
I have to agree with Art when he states "Honestly, print the list of violators on-line. I agree, THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!" Listing the addresses of homeowners whose sidewalks are in disrepair works. I remember about 3 winters ago when someone listed the addresses of sidewalks that were not shoveled and covered with ice. The next day they were shoveled. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2814 Registered: 9-2001 |
Yea! Maybe I'll just set up the forum for everyone to use. Thanks for the suggestion Cfa, I can do that... BTW, how are you doing down there? I always liked it when we could agree on something. | ||
| Reflective Citizen Username: Reflective Post Number: 551 Registered: 3-2003 |
Are citations down because of police morale? Or because our own politically appointed municipal judge Stan, is not enforcing the citations? Just asking. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 2828 Registered: 9-2001 |
Neither! It's just plain old fashion, good old police work, along with a great community!!!! | ||
| squeeks Citizen Username: Squeeks Post Number: 22 Registered: 8-2001 |
AJC I see that you started another thread on the sidewalk issue. Thanks!. Later this month I am planning to talk a walk in a 3 block radius from my home and list all the addresses where sidewalks are in obvious(and by that I mean .. obvious)need of repair.Believe me, the list will be very very long.Quality of life in our town should not be an option for each homeowner, it should be an ongoing obligation. I have lived in my home for 8 years now and still walk over and around the same sidewalks that have been broken, raised, full of holes and loose materials. There are ordinances on the books that say this is not an acceptable condition for public safety and EVERYONE should be forced to abide by them. Thanks again for your support with this. On the speeders issue - I agree with you that in almost every area of our town there is a respectable level of police prescence. Maybe not so in the village where a severe crackdown should be put in effect to deal with all the selfish idiots who feel it is their God given right to park just about any where they like. Don't you just want to scream at them when you have taken the time to drive around and around and around the village to find a parking spot, yet these idiots just plop their vehicle in any little empty niche, or handicap only spot, they can find so they can just hop into the pizza place. Give me a break, ticket their sorry, lazy butts and free up the conjestion in town. Back to the speeders though. When was the last time you actually saw the police conducted a speed trap in town? Personally, I can not recall one and I work right in town and spend a lot of time driving on local roads. So many of our roads, and not just the main ones, have become major thoroughfares, with cars, buses, service vehicles and on and on. So many drivers are just "passing through, trying to by pass Springfield Ave,or some other area. Prospect, Elmwood, and so many other roads have become their personal "highways." and they DO NOT obey the speed limits. I can not say "officially" how fast they are going, but I know what a car going 25 mph looks like versus one going 40 or 50 mph. In my opinion, there are very few of the former around most days. Citizens can not handle this problem, only the police, so it's about time they make some plans to deal with it and begin a serious effort ticket these violators. Ticketing speeders consistently is probably one of the only real deterrents to this action. Having an increased prescence on the busy streets at rush hours would not hurt either. |
