Speeding...now here's an idea

[Jersey Dad]

[Guest]

This is off topic, I think Cranbury probably has the highest ratio of police/resident in this country.

[Guest]

[Guest]

[Guest]

This is off topic and shows no understanding other than a look at the numbers. We have a lot of residents that seem to like to complain, but then not show up at meetings. The Chief and officers made a presentation to the public a few months back. Very few residents actually attended.

You have a number of state mandates for the force that require 3 officers to be mainly administrative- Chief, Capt and Lt. Then you have 14 officers left to cover all the shifts and also vacations. When you factor in 2-3 officers on duty at a time depending on shift, plus the coverage on 130, the warehouses and patrol. Our department is actually the optimal size. Any less and we're paying a lot more for overtime and any more we're paying more benefits and salary. So if you want to reduce staff then you can't complain about speeding because there will be minimal coverage.

[Guest]

Let's assume 7 for the day and the other 7 for the nigh. We still have 7 working day and night. Ok, let's say 1 on vacation on average every day, that left 6 plus 3 administrative staff (a total of 9 during daytime) to work on a small area like Cranbury?

BTW, the 3 administrative staff also can cover the vacation and handle extra demand that may arise.

[Guest]

And then you have days off to consider. If instead of complaining you had attended the Chiefs talk you would have heard the scheduling and shifts.

[wcody]

The township committee is looking into traffic issues in town. Dave Stout and myself have joined a traffic committee. There will be a public hearing sometime in the near future to get feedback from residents. This post is on one of the issues we had is speeding on Main St. Since police cannot patrol Main St. 7x24, we are thinking some ideas to control speed. One potentially idea is speed bumps or speed humps on Main St. I know that speed bumps can be noisy for the houses near the bump but does anyone have thoughts on the newer style speed humps or speed tables similar to what is in Princeton?

Win

[neighbor]

Win - I am happy to hear this is in front of the township. I'm sure that many folks would show up for a meeting (at least I would), so please keep us posted on the date/time.

Speed humps are used in a number of towns, including Princeton and even in Prague! They aren't as tall and are wider so they don't bottom out a car if it is going too fast. However, it will slow you down! I don't have any stats on their success, but I know that residents have been very happy with the control they provide.

As a matter of fact, in Prague, they are in most residential neighborhoods. I was thrilled to seem them there & successful.

[Guest]

Speed humps would not work on Main St. We have too many trucks coming down which would not be slowed down. We have too many drivers that would ignore them causing issues, swerve around them so they are driving partially in traffic spaces or they would simply speed up between them. My brother in law is a police officer and he hates them because they do little and cause more problems for Main roadways. As an officer responding he'll avoid streets where the humps are because he can't respond as fast and it also slows down emergency responders. They don't distinguish whether you're a responder or simply a speeder. His town put them in and is now removing them on several streets at a large expense because of a traffic engineer who was looking for revenue. Residential use for developments or side streets they work well to slow down cars. Typically, these are streets with little radar enforcement, less frequent EMS response, and little truck traffic.

Focused traffic patrols, radar signs, strict enforcement (i.e. prohibition of warnings), slow down in our town signs, all work better.

Here are some sites showing plus and negatives:

http://www.titusville.com/Page.asp?NavID=200

http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/pwa/programs_services_traffic_calming_level_3_speed_hump.shtml

http://www.panamacity-fl.gov/pdf/Speed_Hump_Policies_and_Procedures_Package.pdf

[Crangal]

[Jersey Dad]

I don't know much about the pros and cons of speed bumps on Main St.

I do like the idea of putting signs in the crosswalks in the middle of the street reminding drivers to "stop" for pedestrians because they have the right of way. I think these signs slow down traffic.

I also like the idea of looking into a reciprocal arrangement with Plainsboro for traffic patrol. This could beef up traffic patrol without adding expense. I respect the Cranbury PD and I would like to see them have more resources to focus on crime prevention.

If they don't do this already, I would like to see them consider having a Cranbury Officer parked next to the Methodist Church all day every day during school hours. I think it sends the dual message "don't mess with our kids" and "slow down in our town".

[crantaxpayer]

[Guest]

If Cranbury asked Plainsboro to do that they'd turn away our court relationship. Court costs are expensive and in Cranbury we were basically breaking even if not losing money. Plus, we would be brining people in off the turnpike, 130 and elsewhere near the school. People were concerned that the court may be in session as the same time as a school function or if kids were doing reports or studying at the library.

Whenever it was analayzed the court costs came back to it being more effective in Plainsboro. However, they are not making any real money off us, certainly not enough to encourage them to patrol into Cranbury.

In terms of the church idea. I would think the times in the morning and afternoon that the police are there would be sufficient. The kids are supposed to be in class during the day and if they aren't there is a bigger problem. I'd rather have the traffic cruiser at different parts of town as opposed to having it sit in one spot all day.

[Jersey Dad]

[Jersey Dad]