The Speed Waves Program has again been active in Tenney Lapham Neighborhood and throughout Madison. In our neighborhood, laser radar (lidar) has been used as a Madison Police Department "Speed Waves" enforcement tool on at least five different dates in the last couple of months. Most recently, on September 30th, the Speed Board -- conventional radar combined with a large digital display operated by community volunteers -- was set up just two blocks in front of a lidar Speed Waves trap for outgoing traffic on E. Johnson Street. Even though oncoming drivers could see the flashing lights of police cars ahead as they passed the Speed Board, at least three squad cars were kept continually busy pulling over speeders.

On the 24th of September, 33 tickets were written on E. Johnson St. and 8 in just one hour along Sherman Ave. On the 16th, 38 tickets were written in the neighborhood and on the 27th of August, 34 tickets. Earlier in August about 40 tickets were written in one day. Our Central District Police Captain George Silverwood reported that the writing of more than 150 tickets in our neighborhood targeted the beginning of the school year as a critical time to reinforce safe and civil driving. On one of these dates, a speeder set a new, albeit distressing, record in the neighborhood; 62 mph in a 25 mph zone - as clocked and ticketed by the Speed Waves Program.

The City of Madison has made use of Speed Waves funding from the federal government to contribute towards enforcement efforts as part of a three-part attack on speeding and other dangerous driving. The other parts of the effort are education and engineering (multimodal transportation construction, signage and traffic lights).

One of our neighborhood transportation ideas is that one day the police will mount a major traffic surveillance and enforcement effort and no one will get a ticket. This will happen because everyone they observe will be driving, biking, and walking in a safe, considerate and civil manner. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Naysayers are likely to respond by saying, "That's a real nice idea, but it is simply unreasonable."

In fact, we know very well that our driving culture in the U.S. is not about to change overnight because of our efforts. And we know even more about what is unreasonable. We know from the "City of Madison 1997 Crash Report" that collisions cost us more than 60 million dollars a year. These figures only count those crashes that police responded to; crashes on private property and those only reported by citizens are not included. In one year, twenty-six hundred people were injured, one hundred thirty-seven were incapacitated and four died within city boundaries alone. Is that reasonable? Would we find those figures reasonable if they were the result of any other single cause? - one disease, one civil calamity, one disaster?

Not all that long ago, people thought it was reasonable to tell drunk drivers to "just take it easy and drive straight home". Slowly over time, and with the prodding of groups like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers), we have learned to account the deaths, injuries and destruction due to drunken dangerous driving as unacceptable. Even though the percentage of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the U.S. has been reduced from 50% to 37%, of the more than 40,000 who die, we certainly do not find these losses "reasonable".

Why would anyone expect us to tolerate losses to communities caused by speeding and other dangerous driving?

We now know that about 30% of the traffic crashes and 40,000 traffic deaths that occur in the United States are speed-related (NHTSA: National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration). We know that all the airbags and seatbelts in the world do nothing to protect pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists outside of vehicles. We know that speeding traffic drives the value of adjacent properties down. Is it reasonable to expect us to subsidize growing volumes of speeding traffic with our quality of life in neighborhoods? (Traffic volume grows at a rate of 2% each year in Madison - much faster than population growth.)

We know that photo radar is tremendously effective in making bad drivers accountable and in improving driving behavior in general. And all of the whining about privacy on public thoroughfares can be put in perspective by contrasting it with the voices of the relatives and friends of the thousands of people who predictably die every year - enough people to fill our largest sports stadiums. Who would offer to speak to them about photo radar threatening the rights of drivers?

Public and peer pressure that forces all drivers to see speeding as dangerous, threatening and unacceptable is the most important influence in finally bringing about significant change. Pressure that builds to convince people to drive more safely and carefully is something that we can all contribute to in ways large and small. The following are actions that will bring about changes for the better. Again, calming traffic and changing the behavior of drivers will not happen quickly, but it will happen through perseverance and by determined effort on many fronts. By first taking the initiative ourselves, and showing our commitment to safer and more civil driving behaviors, we are best able to engage cooperation from others, including our city government. Residents have found it helpful to:

* Pace traffic as you drive by passively adhering to posted speed limits. Start traveling earlier and reduce both risk and stress by maintaining a comfortable buffer of space between you and the cars in front. If other drivers are rude, ignore them and allow them to forge ahead towards their destiny - hopefully a solitary one.

* Stop for pedestrians in marked and unmarked crosswalks as you drive or bike. Check for traffic behind and around you and flash your brake lights as necessary to inform others of your good intentions. Wave pedestrians on and bask in their warm thanks and appreciation. Stopping is a seldom practiced courtesy reinforced by a generally ignored state law, but you can help change all that.

* Call and thank private companies and public institutions when their vehicles drive through your neighborhoods at safe speeds.

* As pedestrians, wave to and thank drivers who stop for you to cross the street. Everyone deserves kudos for this one.

* Stop and thank police officers in the neighborhood for enforcing laws against hazardous driving (and for their other many good works as well). They will likely be surprised and definitely encouraged. Writing tickets is not the most personally rewarding part of their job. Besides, we have some outstanding neighborhood officers who are also good listeners and educators.

* Use the Speed Board to increase driver's awareness of their speed on your street. This is a large electronic sign that uses a radar gun to display current speeds of traffic to drivers. Call Tom Walsh at City Traffic Engineering (266-6526) to procure the speed board for your street, school or neighborhood area.

* Call the Speeders Hotline at 266-4624 to report traffic violations of any kind. Once you have learned to provide the necessary info including type of violation, where, when, license number, vehicle description, occupant description and any other distinguishing characteristics, you can skip the introduction message by just pressing the # key. If your info matches up, (particularly license and vehicle) the city will send a nasty letter to the driver. This probably works best for drivers when: 1) the driver cares in the least, 2) when the car is registered in a parent's name, or 3) when the driver has a restricted license and the car is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is just an introduction to changing the behavior of drivers and bicyclists for the good of everyone.

There are many other ways to be involved in changing how people and things are transported through our neighborhood to enhance both quality of life and commerce. This article has concentrated on individual actions.

Historically, our neighborhood has been very innovative and effective in developing effective means to accomplish its goals. The Drive 25 campaign, working cooperatively with City Transportation Engineering, media and public relations events, and establishing productive relationships with those who carry out the least appreciated work of enforcement are a few examples. There is much more to do and many opportunities to participate through the neighborhood Transportation Committee and other venues. If you have a dedicated desire to make the neighborhood better, call and we'll hook you up with people who share your enthusiasm and have resources to work for change. Traffic pressure will continue to grow rapidly in any case. (More than 100,000 vehicles per day pass through the Isthmus already.) New in-fill development, particularly along the Yahara corridor and near E. Washington will have significant effects on transportation patterns. You can sit back and just watch or you can delve in and get to work. The bigger issues require larger commitments and more organizing -- and they have the potential for more dramatic benefits. It's up to you.

-Tim Olsen, Transportation Chair


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