Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990 TAG: 9004060662
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W4 EDITION: WEST
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sgt. J.A. Dudley said the pamphlet is not a substitute for a speeding ticket but is intended to call motorists' attention to certain areas where speeding has become a problem.
The program, suggested by Councilman Alex Brown and developed by City Manager Randy Smith and Police Chief Harry Haskins, has been in place for nearly six months. To date, 175 pamphlets have been handed out to motorists, Dudley said.
"The Salem Police Department has received a number of complaints from residents on this street concerning speeding vehicles. There are many children living and playing nearby," the blue pamphlet reads.
"Please help us protect those living in the area by carefully observing the speed limit. We will be working radar routinely on this street."
The pamphlets are distributed by traffic officers working road checks on streets where the department has received complaints of speeding, Dudley said. Those problem areas have included Academy, Broad and High streets and McVitty Road, he said.
The road checks typically are followed several days later by radar checks, Dudley said.
Brown said most of the complaints he gets as a councilman are about speeding on residential streets.
"Most people do it. I've caught myself doing it, going 40 in a 25 mph zone," he said. "But that's really way too fast. There could be an unforgiveable accident. I decided it was time to get some program going. We wanted people to be aware and keep their speed down."
During a council meeting last month, Brown said before he voted to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity to Salem Taxi, that he spotted one of the company's cabs speeding past his house on Academy Street.
Academy is one of city's "hot spots," primarily because the street is very hilly, Smith said.
"If you don't brake, you pick up speed," he said. "People don't realize that the complexion of the neighborhood has changed. There are a lot of kids who don't always look when they cross."
Smith called the program a positive, not punitive approach.
"People need to be cognizant of the fact that we've had complaints about an area and that we're cracking down on neighborhoods where speeding's a problem," he said. The pamphlets "could be considered a warning ticket."
"I got one a couple months ago on Broad Street," he said.
by CNB