Complaints about traffic violations and a perceived lack of police enforcement have always been high on the list of things residents bring to my attention. Tonight at our monthly public meeting of council, someone suggested we should be publishing on the city’s website the monthly report of statistics of police activity that all councillors receive. I expressed my support for this idea, and I will get the ball rolling here by posting one particular stat that stood out this month.
Highway Traffic Act tickets issued (year to date):
2007: a few short of 1400
2008: less than 700
Why the huge drop? Are there fewer speeders, red light runners, and stop sign-optional drivers? Or is enforcement simply down by half?
UPDATE: Answers here.
Rob, anyone who has driven in Charlottetown will tell you that the number of traffic violations has never been higher. Publishing the numbers of traffic tickets will, I believe, just annoy law abiding people by showing just how slack our police department is getting.
Something really needs to be done.
I was standing at the corner of Kent and University yesterday, waiting to cross Kent. The light changed and the walk sign went up. I checked to make sure all the cars had actually stopped. Then another woman and I stepped out onto Kent. A car blasted down University, turned onto Kent without even looking and very nearly took us out. The woman was a little shaken. She asked me if I was from here. She told me that this was the second time in as many days she had nearly been hit. She said the drivers here were the worst she has ever seen – and she’s from Boston.
In Toronto, they just incorporated the pedestrian scramble – which is something that would be FABULOUS in Charlottetown – at key intersections. Oh wait, sorry, the preferred term is “pedestrian priority phase”.
Regardless of what you call it, it is a great concept. I think Northampton Mass has a few, and they really make a lot of sense.
You could re-instate “traffic circle classes” that were being offered a few years back in Ch’town… how’d that go over?