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| Southern Shores Police Department |
EyeonDare polled four of the five members of the town council and each one said the decision was made in an attempt to insure more safety for pedestrians who needed to cross the highway, especially during the tourist season. However, it is an accepted fact that it is almost impossible to travel 35 mph during the peak season anyway.
So, the question needs to be asked, "Could the town insure better pedestrian safety if they enforced the speed limit that is already in effect?" Town records also show that the police department issued 302 warning tickets for the same 11 month period, but even that figure equates to less than one warning ticket per day.
Given the above figures, and assuming the police department is doing a commendable job of patrolling the highway, it appears to EyeonDare that the residents and tourist who drive through the town are doing a spectacular job of obeying the traffic laws. So, why the worry about pedestrians?
Well, according to what EyeonDare has been able to find out, the push to lower the speed limit was put forward by the freshman councilman, Larry Lawhon and backed by Mayor Hal Denny, who said he had been wanting to lower the speed limit for some time. Councilmen George Kowalski and Dave Sanders chimed in and only Councilwoman Jodi Hess voted "Nay". Hess said she wanted the town to look into what other measures could be taken to insure pedestrian safety before making the move to lower the speed limit, especially during the off season.
Meanwhile, the Town of Southern Shores has joined Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills in what appears to be heaping punishment upon off-season travelers in Dare County. Go figure.
(statistical source: http://www.tosspd.com/Statistics.html
14 comments:
What a bunch of foolish people who made this ridiculous decision.
Have to agree with you, johnr.
I don't think anyone would argue about a 35 mph limit during the busy tourist season, but 35 after labor day is ridiculous. Drivers should not be punished because the town can't erect safe crossovers for pedestrians. NCDOT will do anything they can to help, but the town just ignores them...like they did when they refused to allow more turn lanes on the highway.
As an aside, the real problem we have here in Dare County is too many local governments and too many elected officials...all joined at the elbow and hip because what one town does affects residents in every other town, like it or not...
Talk about jumping on the bandwagon. No need for a reduction of the current speed limit.
No one in Southern Shores drives above 35 mph because they are too old to go any faster.
Lowering the speed limit will not make anyone more safe. The police do not bother to enforce the existing speed limits throughout the town anyway. What makes anyone think they'll begin to do their jobs now?
I disagree...if the police are stopping people and giving warning tickets, they should be commended for that as much as if they give a ticket. Kudos to the SS police..it sounds to me like they really care about the traveling public...In fact, I'll bet the police department did not ask for the speed limit reduction...even though the police chief might have gone along with it...as he knows who writes his paycheck...
EOD, I have lived on Dogwood Trail for over 15 years and I have never seen anyone pulled over for speeding there. The high volume of traffic on that road in the summer combined with the unsafe speeds that remain unchecked make it an incredibly dangerous street. The only police
we ever see are directing traffic at the elementary school. There are none to be seen on summer weekends. No, I do not think the SS police are doing their job at all.
I think that a ticket every 6 says it's a small number. Even if this would be the smallest town, there are definitely more speeding drivers that drive on the streets of this city....
So maybe authorities should do more to catch all of them and stop the speeding trend that is everywhere.
I recently received a traffic ticket Toronto and before this one last month another one was sent to me....so if I count my tickets and the ones a few friends got the number this police department has during 6 months would definitely be lower:))
Ha! I was heading north on the bypass the other day only to have a SS cop tailgate me and pass me on the right as we approached the Duck intersection. He was doing well over 60 when he passed me and did not have lights on. When I first saw him in my rear mirror I did not realize it was a cop, I was doing probably 52-54 mph so felt like I was going plenty fast and I really did not appreciate the tail gating so I slowed down. Then he snaked his way by me on the right weaving through cars and WITHOUT a turn signal.
If Larry and Hal were really concerned about the "safety" of pedestrians, they would consider building a pedestrian bridge at the Triangle. Chicahauk Trail, East Dogwood Trail and Hillcrest already have traffic signals to aid crossing Route 12.
I also live off of Dogwood but we don't cross at the light. Forget crossing at the pedestrian crosswalks! Even though we have signs and it is the State law, we have been practically run down while trying to cross the road. Most locals will stop and let us cross, but the tourists - forget it! How many tickets have been written to drivers that fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks? I'll bet ZERO! It should be enforced by the SSPD just like for a school bus! I say write MORE tickets and please write tickets for drivers ignoring crosswalks!
Good points, but is a decreased speed limit going to make drivers more likely to stop and allow peds to get to the other side of the road? I'm willing to wager that most of our visitors don't have to wait any longer at a crosswalk than a vehicle has to wait at a stoplight. Do you suppose most accidents are caused by people trying to beat a car across the road. We know for sure that happens all the time on the four-lane portion of Hwy 158. No laws are going to correct stupidity.
"No laws are going to correct stupidity."
Most particularly on the part of the Southern Shores Police Department.
Lower speed limit today and a stop light at every crosswalk tomorrow. Yay. Can't wait. (note sarcasm) The counsel should look at facts and figures for speed vs crashes within the town before making a decision on a lower speed limit. I'd venture to guess more crashes occur in the Marketplace than on Duck Rd. Maybe we should have valet parking at the Marketplace too!
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