Speed Trap

Georgia has an off and on again relationship with "speed traps," with South Georgia implementing a "Yankee Tax" on folks headed to Florida, and most notably with Pine Lake, a DeKalb County city (a real one) of under 800 residents. 

Laws were passed. 

Now there are very limited situations where a speeding ticket can be issued at less than 10 over: by Ga State Patrol; or when the speed limit sign includes "strictly enforced." The latter seems to have all but disappeared in Georgia, but it is of little matter. At least in Dunwoody.

These inconveniences did not deter some dunderhead from pondering the impact, presumably beneficial, of lowering speed limits within Dunwoody (clearly not to include I-285). This was either trolling or serious lack of observation skills. 

Are the flashing "yield" signs at the entrance to Nandina effective? No.

Is the re-jiggered 'T' intersection at the exit from Nandina lowering the number of rolling stops? No.

Why might that be?

Could it possibly be that without enforcement drivers are not going to pay attention to these signs? Do you think they would pay any more attention to lowered speed limit signs than they do to the ones in place now? Do you think this city is ever going to use real, live patrol officers to enforce traffic laws inside Dunwoody? 

Cops around here don't even run cruise lights, do you really think they're suddenly going to care about any traffic violations?

So, can we make Dunwoody a speed trap? Hardly.

Keeping Us Safe

See the blue lights atop the police cruiser? These are not flashing, but are solid on. They're called "cruise lights" and are often used so that people, particularly drivers, are aware of a police presence as this tends to discourage the kinds of illegal on-the-road activities that plague Dunwoody. 

You Will Notice This Is NOT Dunwoody PD

As the caption indicates, this is not Dunwoody Police, for a couple of reasons. First, Dunwoody Police never, never, no not ever, do traffic patrols anywhere in or near the village. The second is, they also never use cruise lights. They are not going to patrol. They are not going to stop traffic offenders. They're not even, on the rare occasion it would apply, make their presence known so folks might behave.

They leave that to outsiders. If you see a patrol vehicle with cruise lights on, rest assured it is DeKalb Police, Sandy Springs Police or Brookhaven Police. It sure as hell is not Dunwoody PD. 

Isn't It Worth A Try?

Now that Wally Whirled has packed up his tents and left town maybe the Dunwoody PD can do what we were told they would do and actually start policing the neighborhoods. Now it may not rake in lots of money as the former Top Cop explained, but isn't it worth a try? If there were some patrolling going on then maybe we'd not have vehicles leaving the roadway with enough inertia to take the life of an innocent fire hydrant. 

This Was Done By A Honda

If we enforced our no-truck zones, which are often coincident with school zones, then we would not be finding road gators near a school entrance.

This Is A High Speed Event

This gator shouldn't be there because those trucks should be barreling down Roberts. Hard stop. Schools starts next week and no one at city hall seems to give a damn. 

Red Light Runner-At Least He Signaled

Now, lest you think this is the only traffic signal in daVille being violated, you should spend a little time at the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody and Roberts, where it is all too common to see northbound vehicles heading onto Roberts treat a red light like a yield sign. One glance to the left and they just plow right through the light. It is worthy of note that these drivers do not seem to care about pedestrians. And don't fool yourself, this is not just happening at the near-dawn jogging hour, this happens in broad daylight. Lunch time. 

Why is this happening? Could it possibly be that since this city was founded there has been virtually no traffic code enforcement? And everyone, absolutely everyone, knows there never will be any. That's why.

Timing Is Everything

With the coronation of a new DeKalb School Superintendent, Dunwoody's Top Cop finally got his long lusted for authorization for speed enforcement cameras in school zones. To be clear, and Top Cop has been, if not for these cameras there will be no traffic enforcement in school zones. Never has been. Never will be. Actions speak louder than words.

And then the law stepped in. Or it is about to. 

It appears that Dunwoody's FOMO (on $$$) is well founded, regardless of the pre-authorization protests that it isn't about money (it is) and it is all about children's safety (it isn't). How do we know? Because these speed enforcement cameras are in operation in other jurisdictions and it is most certainly about the money. Again, actions really do speak louder than words. In these jurisdictions it has become all too clear that for-profit companies have been abusing the opportunity to fleece the flock and the flock is pissed as they feel they've only authorized real cops to do the shearing. Under the gold dome, Representatives and Senators have heard from constituents and are actually listening. They are working on HB 348 which would apply some serious limits on the financial operation of these camera systems, and HB 1126 which rolls back the 2018 law thereby prohibiting the use of these cameras. 

Has the window of opportunity closed or can Dunwoody pull off a quick money-grab? The smart money is betting on greed.

End RoR

If the city really wants to make the village pedestrian friendly there are a few things they can do. 

They could start enforcing traffic laws. Dunwoody apparently has such a widespread reputation for non-enforcement that speeding is more the rule than the exception and red lights are frequently run with drivers sometimes flooring it ten yards before the crosswalk. Heaven forbid a pedestrian thought red means red and began to cross. Enforcement has never been even a bottom-of-the-list priority and that is not going to change. Apparently actual public safety does not garner awards. 

Something other jurisdictions are trying is eliminating Right-on-Red (RoR) as drivers never look to their right and will flatten any pedestrian trying to cross, even though the pedestrian has the walk-man light right of way. This change could make a significant improvement in pedestrian safety, much more so than banning drive through windows which the city seems hell-bent on doing. Could the mayor still be miffed about those trash cans at Burger King?

Of course outlawing RoR won't actually work because this city manager is never going to enforce traffic laws even though it is his top priority job. And yet...he keeps that job.

What Do These Have In Common

What Do These Signs Have In Common?
Total Lack Of Enforcement

 

Only Happens Here

Looks like there is going to be some belly-bucking between DCSD and some cities hereabouts over traffic cameras. Some background...

Cities, including Dunwoody, have been pushing DCSD to install these traffic cameras to enforce traffic ordinances and collect revenue from issuance of tickets. As it sits right now the money collected would not necessarily go to DCSD because the law says the administrative agency will not be DCSD but the local jurisdiction. In a nutshell, Dunwoody would get revenue and would escape all costs: DCSD installs and maintains the cameras and service and DPD would not (and never have) bear the cost of traffic enforcement. Our chair force can cool their jets in those Aerons. 

DCSD will lobby for legislative changes to set this right. DCSD Board Chair sees this as win-win: DCSD will keep Dunwoody safer; and DCSD will be duly and properly compensated for doing DPD's job for them. Common sense. 

Not to Dunwoody's mayor who has reportedly been pushing hard for these cameras. The city, through one of the top bungle brothers who is directly in charge of traffic enforcement in this city, whines that they cannot come to an agreement to get DCSD to submit an application to GDOT for the cameras. Well chief, how about until they do you actually have your troops do the very job we voted this city into existence to get done: enforce the traffic laws. 

Feigning surprise that money is involved the mayor laments that if student safety is paramount these cameras would be in place. J.M.J! Maybe, just maybe, the mayor has been pushing on the wrong lever. Maybe the mayor should look inward where the mayor's responsibility lies and push hard, really hard on those levers. Maybe then the city would be informed, with empirical evidence, of the cost of actual police enforcement of these traffic safety measures and then, and only then, an informed cost/benefit evaluation could be made. This would aid any revenue sharing discussions with DCSD as the city would know exactly how much money would be saved with traffic cams over actual policing. Only that revenue in excess of the policing costs should stay with the city and the rest should go to DCSD? Why? Because this city and the mayor and the council have demonstrated time and again that safety if NOT a priority and their not ensuring safety for our school children. Frankly the city doesn't deserve a single dime of this revenue. 

If Dunwoody, if the mayor, if the council, if the city manager, if the police chief, if any of them were doing their job to protect our community this would not be an issue at all.

Dare We Hope?

As mentioned earlier, cameras have been cropping up in some interesting places over the last several weeks. Now we have one located at the entrance of the No-Truck zone aimed northbound on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. This one is situated at a point that the truck [driver] is committed to violating the law (which is never enforced-this IS Dunwoody). 

Even more encouraging is the new camera located on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road just past the intersection with Roberts Road. Being right beside the always ignored No Truck sign is a hopeful sign.

Dare we? Dare we actually hope this may result in someone enforcing the laws that the City Manager and his Police Chief refuse to enforce?