Residents press council on speeding; police report average ~27 mph on Maple, enforcement to continue

At the start of the meeting, residents raised concerns about drivers exceeding safe speeds on Myrtle Street and other local side streets. "We would love it if you could reconsider that," resident Tara Belushi said, referring to the council’s earlier decision to discontinue installing speed bumps.

Council invited the police to respond. A police speaker reported that a recent radar study on Maple Street logged roughly 300–400 radar readings with an average speed of about 27 miles per hour and occasional readings in the 30s and 40s. The officer described enforcement actions already taken — stop‑sign enforcement and targeted patrols — and said officers can reposition radar to capture more representative samples near problem locations such as the barber shop and the Morris/Maple approach.

The officer clarified a cited deer‑vehicle incident, saying the deer ran into a vehicle at low speed rather than the vehicle striking the deer at high speed. Council members and residents discussed traffic engineering options (signage, speed limit changes, potential physical traffic calming) and the limits of changing posted limits, noting that lowering posted speeds historically has not always changed driver behavior.

What happens next

Police said they will continue targeted enforcement and can adjust radar siting to gather additional speed data on Maple and Myrtle streets. Council referred continuation of this issue to staff and public works for follow‑up; a detailed engineering solution or a decision on physical traffic calming measures was not made at the meeting.