Police to crack down on speeders in neighborhoods
Rather than put in speed bumps, cops to handle problem
By Erin Mayes
The Campbell City Council will not include speed bumps, traffic diverters, turn restrictions or street closures, as part of a program to alleviate traffic on selected Campbell streets.
Campbell Public Works Director Bob Kass told citizens at a July 25 meeting at city hall that these methods of controlling traffic speed and volume are not ideal tools for the city's Neighborhood Traffic Management Program because the restrictions punish drivers who are not misusing residential streets and simply divert the traffic into other residential neighborhoods. And in some cases, as with speed bumps, the restrictions may impede emergency vehicles.
Meeting participants voiced concerns about the high traffic volume on the streets they live on, and many of them said they live on Christopher Avenue. Some were vocal in their desire for speed bumps to be installed, but, as Kass mentioned, there are problems that arise when the bumps appear.
At one time, the city installed speed bumps on Central Avenue, Campbell Police Chief David Gullo said, and "it almost came to fists" because residents were so divided on whether or not the bumps should be there. Eventually, the bumps were removed.
Gullo mentioned that, at one time, photo radar was used quite a bit in Campbell as a means of enforcing traffic. These devices caught speeding vehicles on camera and police then sent tickets to the violators. The problem with photo radar, Gullo said, is that the state legislature refuses to make it a legitimate program.
This means that if a driver gets a speeding ticket after being caught by photo radar and does not respond to the ticket by either paying the fine or contesting it, police have no recourse. Officers would have to investigate each individual violator who does not respond, which is too time consuming to be considered an effective means of controlling traffic.
However, as Gullo mentioned, there are devices installed at both Bascom and Hamilton Avenues called "rat boxes." The devices allow officers to view when a light has turned red and pull over drivers who run red lights without having to follow the violator through a busy intersection and put his or her own life in danger.
Gullo said that, at one time, the Bascom and Hamilton intersection was rated one of the worst in the nation.
So, instead of implementing the traffic control methods, the city plans to concentrate on about 15 residential streets that will be chosen according to how bad the traffic problems are in those areas. Police will then "saturate" these streets, ticketing violators in hopes of bringing down the volume of drivers and reducing speed.
The city already has a list of streets to choose from, and many meeting participants were eager to add their streets to the list. So far, city staff have identified the following streets as high traffic areas: Apricot Avenue, Arroyo Seco Drive, Budd Avenue, Burrows Road, Capri Drive, Harriet Avenue, Latimer Avenue, Ridgeley Drive, San Tomas Aquino Road, Smith Avenue, Sunnyoaks Avenue, Third Street, Virginia Avenue, Victor Avenue, West Parr Avenue and White Oaks Avenue.
Now that Kass has received the public's input, a recommendation to give certain streets Special Enforcement Zone status will go before the city council in September. If passed, specific areas will receive increased police enforcement and be re-surveyed every six months for 18 months, which would be funded in part by a $30,000 allocation in next year's operating budget. At the end of the survey period, the council would hear a report on the effectiveness of the enforcement program.
The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program was developed in January 2000 as part of an effort to alleviate traffic conditions in residential areas.
Campbell, California
