Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Traffic Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Waterford resident challenges police speed-study, cites 43% of northbound vehicles exceeding limit
Summary
Bob Lane told the Board of Police Commissioners the department's average-speed analysis hides a high share of speeders on Upper Oswegochi Road and urged permanent radar-feedback signs after presenting signed neighbor statements and the department's data.
Bob Lane, who said he lives at 23 Asagotchi Road in Waterford, told the Board of Police Commissioners he and 35 neighbors submitted a written statement disputing the Waterford Police Department's conclusion that average speeds on their stretch of Upper Oswegochi Road do not justify lowering the posted limit.
Lane said the department's speed-study relied on average vehicle speeds, which he argued understate the prevalence of drivers who exceed the limit. "Average speed simply is not a true indicator of speed that speeding has actually occurred," Lane told the commission. He said the same data show 43% of northbound vehicles and 26% of southbound vehicles exceeded the posted 30 mph limit on the study segment.
Lane also described the department's use of radar-feedback signs (active and inactive modes) during the study and said the signs reduced the share of vehicles speeding: an 11% reduction northbound and about a 5% reduction southbound, according to the numbers Lane presented. "This is an accident waiting to happen," he said, urging the board to consider permanent radar-feedback signs "as a minimum" alongside other traffic-calming measures.
The clerk confirmed Lane's revised letter, the packet of signatures and the underlying speed-study data were submitted for the record and will appear in the correspondence packet and next month's minutes for further review. The board did not take a formal vote on ordinance or speed-limit changes at the meeting; members said they could "take another look" at the issue and invited further review of the submitted materials.
The exchange centered on interpretation of the same data: Lane emphasized vehicle exceedance rates, while the department earlier summarized average operating speeds and reported that feedback signs further reduced speeds. The commission has not adopted any new speed limit or enforcement policy based on Lane's comment; his materials were entered into the record for follow-up.
