The meeting was rather dry except for the traffic calming issue whereby the affected community stood in unison at the meeting demanding that the council take action thereby allowing the residents to vote on the matter. Speeding cut through traffic was the big issue with the residents knowing that the problem will get worse come August with the new school opening. The matter passed unanimously by the council and after the horror stories I heard from the residents, I believe I know a new stretch of sidewalk that was added to my wish list of future improvements.
Speeding, Speeding Tickets, Speed Detection were big issues tonight and I would like to ask that everyone please be mindful of their driving habits.
Below is the audio from the meeting. Agenda
04132009_1.mp3 Start of meeting
04132009_2.mp3 Land development Chap 14 minor cleanup
04132009_3.mp3 Village Creek Traffic Calming
04132009_4.mp3 Probation - Car Wash - End.
In the rougly 2 short weeks the Dunwoody Police have been in operation I've seen probably 6 or 7cars cars pulled over by Dunwoody Police. This is in my very limited travels around Dunwoody in just two weeks. I can only hope this are very legitimate traffic stops, but after living in several other small police jurisdictions, alarm signals start going off when I see so many traffic stops. I hope this force is not going to be about trying to raise revenue through the police. I have no idea the nature of the offenses, but I sure hope we're not going to see a police force that overeaches, particuarly just to raise revenue. Anyone who has every lived in small city knows this is a great temptation of the police force.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that this PSA is a bit much. I am all about people slowing down and pedestrian awareness, but this video is over the top. Most likely it will only remain on the Internet and not televised like other PSA's due to it graphic nature. Just my opion on the PSA and not PEDS. FYI... Im for Radar Signs and not speed humps.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI have noticed the same thing. It seems like I see cars pulled over in Duwnoody about every time I drive on our streets. I'm all for traffic enforcement, but you have to wonder if we're heading toward one of these small towns where the police get bored due to lack of activity or they are looking for revenue. I have no sympapthy for red light violations and other such dangerous offenses, but based on the number of stops I'm seeing I have to wonder the same as you. Hopefully our gut feel is wrong. They are just keeping us safe, rather than being a nuisance looking for the slightest of violations.
So, you all find speeding in our community, a community filled with children, acceptable?
ReplyDeleteGosh, what I've seen are Dunwoody Police speed trappin' and pullin' on I-285. If I remember correctly one of the big complaints of the ProDuns was that DeKalb was sending all the North Precinct patrols out of Dunwoody to the south. While it is technically correct that I-285 is inside Dunwoody (and now we know why) it is very difficult to understand how speed traps on 285 do more for Dunwoody than patrols in residential and business areas. I wonder if there was a DPD car parked on 285 Sunday morning that could have been patrolling a particular neighborhood where shots were fired.
ReplyDeleteWho said anything about speeding? Those being pulled over were on main roads around Dunwoody, not anywhere children should be walking or playing. Enforcement is fine with common sense.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen any Dunwoody Police on I-285, though I've seen numerous instances of Doraville police writing tickets on I-285 within Dunwoody.
ReplyDeleteUnless you live on Village Creek Drive or have young children who cannot safely walk or ride a bike on our street, you cannot possibly understand. I am thrilled with the police enforcement and I think aggressive, tailgating drivers is a major issue in Dunwoody. They gave out 7 speeding tickes on Village Creek Drive this morning in 2 hours. I love it!!! It is a 25 mph residential street - I am sick and tired of the rude, agressive cut through traffic and I welcome speed tables, turn restrictions - whatever it takes. If we hadn't lost power, I would have welcomed that tree staying across the street for a few more days. It was a nice respite from the speeders and I enjoyed seeing all the cut through traffic doing their u-turns. And guess what - they are not all from Fulton County or outside Dunwoody. If you're speeding through our neighborhood, you're not welcome.
ReplyDeleteI understand completely. I deal with this every day. I live on Peeler Road. The speed limit is 35. My guess is that the average speed on that road is somewhere upwards of 50 mph and it is a danger just turning into one's driveway. And yes, it was nice to see the Dunwoody Police in Village Mill yesterday - morning and afternoon.
ReplyDeleteKeith - I couldn't agree with you more! I was at Monday night's council meeting and spoke up about Village Mill. I'm glad to see Village Creek Dr. will likely be getting speed tables, however I thought the neighborhood would be better served by cul-de-sacing the subdivision at Peeler. It would have eliminated cut-through traffic completely. Plus, it would increase the value of the neighborhood (as a realtor, that's something I'm always looking at). Hopefully the police force is sending a message - you can't drive 50 in a 25!
ReplyDeleteI'd love a cul de sac too - we've never been able to get consensus on the more dramatic improvements like that one. Onse step at a time.
ReplyDeleteCommon sense enforcement is the key, not the "gotacha" mentality, which could be happening. I've been very concerned about the speeds of cars around Dunwoody for years. It's not uncommon to see 35mph limits being exceeded by 20mph or more. Those types of violators should be given tickets on the spot. However, many other should be given warnings on some of these streets because it's become the norm to drive much faster. To avoid excessive tailgating, I've actually speed up since going under the speed limit in Dunwoody is very rare.
ReplyDeleteIt's been all of TWO WEEKS with our police department and you people are bitching already.
ReplyDeleteJust drive reasonably and you have nothing to worry about. If the DPD wants to raise money by putting speed traps out, caveat emptor. Speed-- and pay.
But why don't you give the guys a damn chance before you get all into their business.
For traffic calming methods in residential areas other than speed bumps, take a look atChicanes:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicane
They're in use in The Branches neighborhood. I lived in Europe for 6 years and were used extensively there.