Carefree Truth
Issue #810, January 27, 2020
Gary Neiss noted speeding vehicles are a concern that many residents have voiced to Council and staff members over the past 6-8 months. He said this is an organic conversation just to start off the thought process and the direction that should be taken to mitigate the problem.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) deputies can't be everywhere at once to monitor speeding. Several communities in the East Valley utilize photo radar. It has proven to be a very effective tool in changing the behavior of speeders and improving street safety. The Paradise Valley police swear by it. Mr. Neiss could contact the 2 companies that provide the service to have them submit quotes and give presentations to the Council.
A new State law requires photo radar citations to be reviewed by an enforcement agency before tickets are sent out to a perspective violator. This would need to be looked into further to see if that would fall to our Code Enforcement Officer or to MCSO.
Councilman Gene Orrico said photo radar should definitely be looked into, but that it didn't address loud pipes on motorcycles. Mr. Neiss agreed that it did not, it was strictly for speed, but slowing down the motorcycles does also reduce their noise. Mr. Orrico said, "Then we should go ahead with it".
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio asked how many photo radar points would be needed and where they would be located. Mr. Neiss responded that there are options for fixed or mobile locations. These options need further investigation.
Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer noted that Carefree is already working with traffic engineers in connection with slowing traffic at the crosswalks. She wondered if the first step should be to talk with them, since they are already being paid to do some work on this issue. Mr. Neiss replied that this is different. The work currently being done only addresses speeding at the crosswalks, whereas photo radar would go across the entire Carefree landscape, but it might be part of the crosswalk safety too. He had discussed it with the traffic engineers, and they felt it was useful in changing behavior.
Vice Mayor John Crane said that clearly Carefree has a speeding problem throughout the town and it must be addressed. The more people move here, the greater the problem becomes. But he asked that a MCSO solution also be looked at, because we might find that photo radar is not acceptable here. Photo radar companies get paid based on the number of tickets they issue. The Vice Mayor suggested bringing in another deputy dedicated to traffic, noting that Carefree used to have a greater police presence during the season. Mr. Neiss explained that an officer can be called for service in another area. They are only out there for a fraction of the time, whereas photo radar is 24/7. A traffic beat costs approximately $150,000 a year, and that will be going up significantly due to the cost of the administrative process for each ticket. Vice Mayor Crane agreed, but was concerned that photo radar might not prove viable in Carefree, and encouraged looking at all alternatives.
Mayor Les Peterson agreed with looking into all alternatives, but pointed out that a vote was not being sought that night. The project is just starting out and is at the discussion stage. There is general agreement that something must be done. There are 3,700 Carefree residents and a traffic count of approximately 17,000 per day at the intersection of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road.
Linda Rawles asked if she could speak, saying she had information that she had forgotten to share when she spoke at Call to the Public. Mayor Peterson granted permission. Mrs. Rawles said that she spoke with MCSO Captain Whelan, who was going to check with the Municipal Court Judge about enforcement of the decibel readers for cases that could be prosecuted and convicted. If it were feasible, and the Town would buy decibel readers, he would have his deputies use them.
I was also granted permission to speak, and relayed that I had recently spoken with ex-Vice Mayor Lloyd Meyer, who when on Council led the committee on motorcycle noise. He said that the Town bought a number of decibel readers for MCSO at that time, so MCSO should already have them. Mayor Peterson said they would look into that.
I also noted that I had been told by many people that a ticket is a summons, and if they are not hand delivered they can be ignored. Although most probably do pay them, I know people who have thrown photo radar tickets they received through the mail into the trash can and they suffered no consequences. So that's also something to consider. The Mayor agreed to look into that.
https://vimeo.com/383900219
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
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