| Author | Message | ||
     Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1747 Registered: 12-2004  |
Maplewood Residents: Fed up with cars speeding on the streets in your neighborhood, putting your children at risk as they travel to and from school or play in your yard? Putting you at risk as you travel to and from work? So are we. Please follow the link below to sign a petition for better enforcement of speed limits in Maplewood. This petition will, at some point in the next 6 months or so, be presented to the Town Council at a regularly scheduled meeting. PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS when signing the petition, as I will be creating a mailing list to provide updates and, most importantly, to request that everyone appear at the designated Town Council meeting in support of this petition. AND BE SURE TO SPREAD THE WORD. Tell all your friends and neighbors, particularly those folks who don’t frequent MOL, to sign the petition too. http://www.webpetitions.com/cgi-bin/print_petition.cgi?99500113 | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 9479 Registered: 5-2001 |
I believe there has been some skepticism about petitions presented to the TC in the past. I would suggest including the full address on the form, if this is possible with webpetitions.com | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1753 Registered: 12-2004 |
Thanks for the suggestion Bob. There is no place to put street address, which I prefer for the on-line venue. I will be covering my ••• 6 ways to Sunday on this, so if we need more info, hopefully we can get it. As far as skepticism is concerned, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 8 signatures on the petition so far. I'm very encouraged! | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 5490 Registered: 5-2001  |
I will campain my ••• off for the next TC candidate who runs with a meaningful, well-researched, viable plan to control traffic and speeding in town. I think that massive ticketing would be a win-win; it would generate revenue, perhaps pay for an additional officer or some MPD overtime and keep the streets safer. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1754 Registered: 12-2004 |
Wow. 20 signatures and counting. Keep up the good work folks. | ||
| jet Citizen Username: Jet Post Number: 930 Registered: 7-2001 |
When was the last time a pedestrian was struck in this town ? | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6434 Registered: 5-2001 |
39 signatures when I tried to sign just now. However, when I tried to submit my signature, the website indicated that my name had already been affixed to the petition (this was the first time I visited the site). Has anyone else encountered this problem? | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1756 Registered: 12-2004 |
Joan, very strange, but being that I'm not a computer person, I have no idea why that might be happening. Did you try again? I sure hope we don't encounter technical problems with this website--that would really screw me up! Thanks for the offer (on the other thread) to circulate this url at your block party. I encourage anyone and everyone to do whatever they feel they want to do to get the word out. If we can do 39 "signatures" a day for the next couple of weeks that would be great! | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6435 Registered: 5-2001 |
Just tried again and got the same message.  I tried to sign my husband's name to the petition (after getting his permission) and again received the error message that someone had already added his name to the petition. Since he is computer illiterate, I know he didn't do it himself. Just a word of warning, if someone is adding the names of other persons (than their own) to this petition without notifying these others they are doing so (and hopefully getting their permission first), this could seriously impact on the validity of the document. Meandtheboys: Is there anyway you check the names listed and see whether Bernie's and my name are included? If not, you have our permission to add our names if you are able to do so. | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 22 Registered: 8-2005 |
Joan: Try again, I just added my name successfully. Unless maybe there are two people with your name in town. You'd think the e-mail address would take care of something like that. Good luck. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1758 Registered: 12-2004 |
Joan, I guess I am the "administrator" of this thing, since I set it up. I can see all the names, and I know I can remove names, but I don't know if I can add from my "administrative" screen. I added my name to the petition via the same screen as everyone else. I hope there is some mechanism that keeps folks from trying to sign multiple names (other than their own), but I don't know for sure. I see no one named Joan or Bernie on the list now. If you want to PL me your info (full name and e-mail address) I'll try to see if I can add them. BTW, we're up to 42 names, which seems pretty darn good for one day. Keep spreading the word folks. | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6437 Registered: 5-2001 |
Meandtheboys: I just sent you a PL. Thanks. | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6443 Registered: 5-2001 |
Cleared cookies. Switched browsers (IE worked. AOL did not) and signature went through. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1761 Registered: 12-2004 |
Great. Now we know what to do if anyone else encounters this problem. Thanks Joan. Happy block party? | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6446 Registered: 5-2001 |
Block party was rained out. We are going to try again next week. Used the time to attend Maplewood Reads, which was a wonderful event, and to discuss issues with Bart Albini at a get to know the candidate coffee. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1764 Registered: 12-2004 |
Just returned after being away for a couple of days, and we're up to 79 signatures. Would love to see many, many more. Let's do our best to keep getting the word out. And a big thank you to all those who have added their names. | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 4187 Registered: 9-2001  |
Meandtheboys, I'm not sure mine went through. Is there anyway to check to find out? BTW, did you receive my e-mail? | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1768 Registered: 12-2004 |
Art, yes and yes. I just got back after being away for two days. Will be getting back to you re: your e-mail soon. | ||
| witness Citizen Username: Witness Post Number: 17 Registered: 9-2003 |
Meandtheboys—I signed the petition. Great idea. I share your terror at the speeds people (are allowed to) drive here. Maybe you could present the results to the TC, and ask everyone who signed to show up in support? Also, would it be bad form to alert people on Sopabox to the petition? This is obviously serious 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 surviving. And without immediate threat of a serious fine, people won't slow down. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org) quotes one study that found: "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.” | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1769 Registered: 12-2004 |
Witness, thanks for adding your name to the petition, and thanks so much for that great information from IIHS, and the statistics on car vs. pedestrian survival rates. I've tucked that away for future reference. I'd love to hear from anyone who has pertinent information that I can use in support of our "cause." As stated in my initial post, I hope to present the petition to the TC sometime early next year. And I'm compiling a mailing list of all the folks who've added thier name to the petition so I can provide periodic updates, and call for support when the petition is presented. I'm currently in the process of getting set up to recieve mail so that folks who don't have access to the internet can send in letters of support. Hope to be able to post that info soon. As of this morning we have 88 names on the petition, and I'm very encouraged by the support. I invite everyone and anyone with an interest to spread the word however you see fit. I hope to be speaking to the BOE (or whatever appropriate entity) about getting flyers sent home in backpacks at all the schools. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1777 Registered: 12-2004 |
Update: 96 names on the petition. Just 4 shy of our first 100. My goal is to get hundreds more! | ||
| hch Citizen Username: Hch Post Number: 151 Registered: 8-2002 |
Meandtheboys- I don't think you have to wait that long to present the petition to the TC, I would go for sooner rather than later. Maybe force them to make it a campaign issue. History has shown that they will listen to far fewer than the opinions of 100 people and make decisions based on these opinions. Good luck. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1788 Registered: 12-2004 |
hch, the reason I'm waiting until early next year is because over the next few months my life is just too crazy to devote much time to this. Three little ones (2, 5 and 7) to take care of, Two kids birthdays, one wedding, block party, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, book clubs, Bunco, homework, volunteering at school, husband who works many evenings every week, after-school enrichment, field trips, spanish lessons, day-to-day stuff like laundry and meals, etc., etc., etc.! Not to mention a little something for myself in between (a lecture at MNH on birds of central park)! Generally, things quiet down quite a bit after the new year, so I'll be able to focus on my little "crusade." If there's someone who has more time than I do, who would like to take the ball run with it on this, I'd be more than happy to hand it over. It just seemed to me I've heard an awful lot of complaining about this IRL and on MOL (and I've done a lot of that complaining myself), but haven't seen anyone DO anything, so I figured I would. UPDATE: We seem to be stalled at 98 names on the petition. Anyone? | ||
| Peter Citizen Username: Peter Post Number: 52 Registered: 7-2004 |
Wreck at Harvard and Prospect. I'm working at home today. About 2:30 there was a two car wreck, and one of the cars ended up in the neighbor's back yard. One car was coming up the hill on Harvard, the other on Prospect, coming from SA. Didn't see it, don't know what happened, but the car on Prospect spun a 360 and both airbags deployed. I'll sign the petition tonight. | ||
| RR Citizen Username: Rogers4317 Post Number: 371 Registered: 6-2004 |
interesting, just a few days ago i mentioned that corner as very hard to navigate because the property owners at the corner of harvard and prospect keep their hedge too high. you have to pull out into the crosswalk to see if any cars are coming down prospect from SA. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1790 Registered: 12-2004 |
Peter, heard a lot of sirens today (I live in that area), guess the ones I heard around 2:30 were responding to that accident. A half hour or 45 minutes later, and there would have been lots of kids coming home from school. I shudder to think. Happy to report we're up to 101 signatures. | ||
| aquaman Supporter Username: Aquaman Post Number: 518 Registered: 8-2001 |
Meandtheboys, You're a busy person! "Three little ones (2, 5 and 7) to take care of, Two kids birthdays, one wedding, block party, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, book clubs, Bunco, homework, volunteering at school, husband who works many evenings every week, after-school enrichment, field trips, spanish lessons, day-to-day stuff like laundry and meals, etc., etc., etc.! Not to mention a little something for myself in between (a lecture at MNH on birds of central park)!" Have you called any of your township representatives or the MPD? If so, what did they say? | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1797 Registered: 12-2004 |
Called for what reason? Not sure I understand the question. Elaborate please. | ||
| aquaman Supporter Username: Aquaman Post Number: 519 Registered: 8-2001 |
Justmeandtheboys, Have you reached out to any of the 5 members of the township committee by telephone to discuss your (quite valid) concern about speeding in Maplewood? Have you called or dropped by in person to discuss the matter with Maplewood's police chief Cimino? Of the 5 current elected township officials, 3 have children who attend our public schools, (Huemer, Pettis, Grodman) Profeta and Leventhal are parents of now-grown Maplewood children. If you have spoken or written or otherwise communicated with our Township Committee members and members of our police force, what was the outcome? | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1798 Registered: 12-2004 |
In answer to your question, specifically, no I have not spoken to either the police chief or any member of the town council regarding my concerns about speeding in Maplewood. That is what I intend to do when I present the petition at a meeting of the Town Council. However, I have called the police department and requested the placement of that radar speed monitoring device you see all over town, which, seems to me, would be a clear indication of a concern about speeding. I did have occasion to speak to an officer on the street shortly after my children (5, 3 and 10 months at the time) and I were almost rundown in a crosswalk on Prospect. Basically, he said (not in so many words) that in spite of the fact that I had a license plate number and several witnesses, there was little anyone could do. I could have run around filling out complaints and such, but as stated earlier, I don’t have a lot of spare time. I know lots of folks IRL who have spoken to someone (not sure who, but if you’re really interested I could find out) about serious speeding in their neighborhoods. Several have requested the placement of stop signs at intersections that have a clear history of traffic accidents, and have found it to be a very difficult and time consuming endeavor. In the time I have been posting on MOL, I have seen no less that 4 different threads, started by different folks, complaining about speeding. It seems to come up once every couple of months. I guess I assume that the police should be doing their job in this regard, and not have to be reminded to do it. I have lived here 7 years and recall maybe one time when I’ve seen anyone get pulled over for speeding. I spend a lot of time on foot walking around town, and have yet to see a speed trap anywhere. But I sure do see plenty of folks speeding. And I see them blow past me, one after the other, as I stand at the crosswalk with my kids in the stroller and my dog, waiting for someone to stop and let us cross--as it is the law and all. I’ve done my fair share of complaining too. It seems to me that it’s time for us, as a community, to get together and make it known to our town officials that we want something done. And I decided I would organize it. BTW, have you added your name to the petition? | ||
| ajc Citizen Username: Ajc Post Number: 4218 Registered: 9-2001 |
"... no I have not spoken to either the police chief or any member of the town council regarding my concerns about speeding in Maplewood..." I'm sure by now some members are already aware of your petition. I don't think you have to wait much longer. Over 100 voices, (or signatures) speak very loud. The sooner you start working with the township committee, the faster they can help you, (all of us). It will also bring more public attention to the issue when you speak before the whole town. Good luck. | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6476 Registered: 5-2001 |
Meandtheboys: The advantage of speaking with one or more of the TC members and/or the police chief about the speeding issue is that it may be possible to get something accomplished without the need for a petitiion. Petitioins tend to be a fall back technique when face to face discussion doesn't accomplish the intended goals. If you really care about this issue and want to see something done quickly to limit speeding in town, you could save months by taking just a few minutes to reach out to someone who can work to resolve the problem. It would also help to have at least one practical suggestion as to what the police department and/or the TC could do within existing resources to help reduce speeding on our streets. | ||
| aquaman Supporter Username: Aquaman Post Number: 522 Registered: 8-2001 |
Well said Joan. While a petition puts names to the problem, a petition is usually a tool at the end game. Waving a petition full of names to an elected body may be effective as far as getting their attention, but it should be a last resort. Meandtheboys, try talking to your township committee and police chief. My experience is that they want to help and will listen. I called my representatives in years past and have been (mediumly) pleased with the outcome. We had our crosswalks re-painted, police were stationed at both ends of our street and speeders were ticketed and fined. Is speeding still a problem in Maplewood? You betcha. I applaud your efforts to start a movement to address speeding townwide. Further I suggest you speak f2f with the powers that be and weigh the outcome before pulling out the petition. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1809 Registered: 12-2004 |
I fully intend to be in contact, and hopefully meet, with one or more of the folks on the town council prior to presenting a petition, to discuss with them what I hope to achieve. I haven't bothered prior to this because I have heard many stories from many people who have tried to have something done, and have gotten no where. I don't want a temporary, quick fix to this pervasive and troubling problem. I want to know that everything that can be done is being done, without begging, pleading or cajoling on the part of the citizens of Maplewood. I would like to see a plan put in to effect that will be comprehensive and ongoing, so that I can walk around town with my children (and, even more important, they can walk around WITHOUT me) and have some sort of reasonable assurance that they will be safe. And as far as practical suggestions, I have a couple, but again, that is not my job, nor is it even remotely an area I have any knowledge of. It is the job of the police, and if they can't come up with some kind of plan to resolve this issue, then I guess we should all be worried. As I said, if there's someone here who has more time than I do, and can get things accomplished sooner than I can, I'm happy to hand the whole stinkin' ball of wax over to them. Unfortunately, I've yet to see anyone step up and take on the task. At some point down the road I had thought I might try to put together a "committee" (again, something I've never done before) of folks to help with this endeavor. Seems like quite a few people have some good ideas. Anyone interested in being on that "committee?" | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1810 Registered: 12-2004 |
Update: 106 names. | ||
| eatapc Citizen Username: Eatapc Post Number: 21 Registered: 5-2001 |
When we first moved here in the late 1980's, there wa a notorious speed trap on Ridgewood, where the speed limit is set at an arguably too low 25 mph. The speed trap generated much ill will against the police and City Hall. Residents were up in arms about it, and this petition has me worried about Maplewood repeating that sad history. I'm absolutely against the police setting up speed traps unless a known problem exists on a particular street. I'm all for the police using common sense by busting drivers for unsafe driving. My pet peeve: Almost every day I see drivers (while obeying the speed limit) ignore pedestrians and drive through crosswalks with pedestrians waiting to cross. | ||
| juju's petals Citizen Username: Jujus_petals Post Number: 178 Registered: 5-2003  |
Did it! Sorry it took me until then end of the week. Thanks meand. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 10048 Registered: 1-2003  |
I sent email to about 200 people, asking them to "sign". A few of them live in South Orange, and some of them signed. Can you remove them from the petition? It might be that we can't have out-of-towners for this to have weight with the TC. But I don't really know how this works. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1814 Registered: 12-2004 |
Tom, I had already given that some thought. My thinking was that there are a lot of folks from S.O. who frequent Maplewood, and vice versa. I figured it couldn't hurt to leave them on. Further, if there are folks who work in Maplewood, but live out-of-town, I could see leaving them on the petition. As it stands now, I think there are maybe only 2 or 3 S.O. residents whose names are on the petition. One of whom just recently moved from Maplewood to S.O. | ||
| Meandtheboys Citizen Username: Meandtheboys Post Number: 1815 Registered: 12-2004 |
Thanks juju, that makes 108! |
