Cranbury to Crack down on Speeding

[Guest]

Article from the Patch.

http://eastwindsor.patch.com/articles/cranbury-to-crack-down-on-speeding


Speeders in Cranbury, this is your warning.

That’s the message the Township Committee and police department are trying to get across to drivers who do not obey the rules of the road.

“Basically, the message to speeders is simply that we take this violation very seriously, and we are going to continue to enforce the law,” Committeeman Jay Taylor said at the committee’s Monday night meeting.

In April, there were a total of 58 speeding summonses written, as compared to March’s 11, February’s 22 and January’s seven summonses issued. Taylor attributed the spike in summonses to the fact that the weather is getting nicer and more people are out and about.

To curtail those who are in a hurry, Cranbury is planning its second annual “Slow Down in Our Town” campaign. Residents and businesses will be asked to display a “Slow Down in Our Town” sign on their front lawns. The signs will be removable.

Another measure that the township will unveil is the return of solar-powered electronic signs that further implore speeders to ease off the gas.

Police and town officials will also speak with neighbors in an effort to find out where speeding has become a concern. The next step would be patrolling those areas, with a focus on North and South Main Street. Police will also continue bicycle patrols throughout Cranbury.

Taylor said last year’s campaign was a success and that there is no hidden agenda. “This is a pure safety issue and is not monetary. The revenue for tickets goes directly to Plainsboro so our concern is speeding and safety,” he said.

Reached after the meeting, Chief Rickey Vargas said the program exists to protect pedestrians.

"Cranbury is a unique walking community with the school, ice cream shop, pizzeria and bagel store. The community generates a lot of traffic," he said. "The program brings awareness by focusing on different traffic problems and different areas of the town by the utilization of resident participation through the use of signs and our message board."

He added that anyone with questions about the program or who is interested in participating in it my hosting signs can contact the Cranbury Police Traffic Safety Department at 609-395-0031.

[Guest]

Good hopefully they will start writing tickets for illegal u-turns on Main.

[Guest]

How about the PD getting off north and south main street and curbing the Golf Cart nightmare on Petty Road where some one of the child drivers is going to get injured along with their passengers. I have seen the PD just pass them by and take no action. There are at least 4 Golf carts that the kids are misusing as vehicles, with parents approval, and this is definitely a hazard for them and the driving public that uses that road.

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[Ikons697]

If you set the speed limit reasonably at the 85th percentile instead of 25 mph on a main road because the residents want it, I have no problem with a speeding crackdown : D

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Plainsboro Township thanks you all for speeding and sending it there way.

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How about instead of just sticking ugly signs all over town the cops just start handing out speeding tickets?

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Statutorily it can actually be whatever the engineering study reveals (which was an 85th percentile speed of around 55 mph); the statute specifically recommends that speed limits be established by engineering studies (the statutes are typically so that 25 doesnt need to be posted on every neighborhood street or 50 doesnt need to be posted on every rural road to be enforced). MUTCD also recommends engineering studies (and may actually require them). Basically, on the basis that pretty much all engineering literature recommends the 85th percentile as a criteria for establishing speed limits and states that lowering speed limits far below this value is unsafe, someone could take the county to court for posting an unsafe speed limit that negatively impacts traffic conditions. In fact, I encourage anyone who gets a ticket here to fight it on these grounds. Speeding is supposed to be punished because it is unsafe, but the speed limits have to be set at reasonable levels for this to actually apply. Is going 50 mph here unsafe just because the limit was reduced? Is 50 mph unsafe on tons of other (more developed) roads like 571, Rabbit Hill Rd, and Cranbury Neck Rd.? I'm not trying to convince you specifically, but just laying out the rationale for all of this.

[Guest]

I say that you drive as fast as you want up and down OTR until you get a ticket and then you prove the system wrong.
I bet you don't have the guts to back up your words with actions.

[Guest]

It seems you have some anger problem; I'm not denying that breaking even the most ridiculous law can land you a punishment. Of course it can. I'm saying that the law is unreasonable, irrational, unscientific and...possibly unlawful in a way. This is all backed up by hard evidence. It's not going to matter whether the limit was produced by an engineering study (which is supposed to be the prerequisite as only engineering studies can determine safe and scientific speed limits) since the courts generally refuse to consider evidence from the MUTCD, state engineering guidelines, etc. It's unreasonable, but that's the way it is.

I've actually been meeting with officials to discuss various speed limits as of late, so I have been backing up my words with actions...Mr. Chip on Your Shoulder.