Memorandum

Greenwich Police Department Traffic Section

Traffic Enforcement Activity Report
August 2005
 

The S.T.E.P. was executed on Mill Street to target illegal truck traffic, Post Road in the Cos Cob hub to target general traffic congestion, illegal parking, and an attempt to curtail the large volume of reported collision in the area. In addition, Riversville Road was targeted as a large number of vehicles were reported to be speeding southbound on Riversville.Areas that were re-targeted from earlier initiatives were Indian Field Road, West Putnam Avenue, Lake Avenue, Dearfield Drive, and Hamilton Avenue.

The breakdown of enforcement citations is as follows:

The collision experience is as follows:

2005/2004

The remainder of citations issued was the results of observations made by the Traffic Enforcement Officers above and beyond the STEP efforts.

On August 23, a Pedestrian Safety Operation was conducted at the traffic circle in front of Greenwich Hospital where a pedestrian was actually struck by a motor vehicle while crossing in a crosswalk in July. The operation encompassed the circle where Lafayette Place, William Street, Perryridge Road, and Lake Avenue all meet. There are six (6) crosswalks located within the confines of the intersection. It was decided to issue citations to the violators on this particular operation as the area had already experienced a collision. During the hour that the area was targeted, 11 citations were issued. The enforcement effort was handicapped by the fact that in order to cover all the roads, the uniformed officers were required to stand in open view on the sidewalk, and two uniformed side-job officers were working on Lafayette Place just south of Lake Avenue and contributed to a visual deterrent to violators. With that said, 11 citations were still issued in one hour.

The Mill Street truck operation was the result of a STEP traffic counter study of the traffic leading up to the Mill Street Bridge. The study revealed that a significant number of trucks (284) had traveled the bridge over a 48-hour period. The point of the operation was that Mill Street and Delavan Avenue are posted NO THROUGH TRUCKS. The enforcement effort revealed that the vast majority of truck traffic was in fact legal and that the commercial lumber yard and the other manufacturing and commercial facilities located in the Byram area contribute to the volume of truck traffic and that if they have business anywhere in Greenwich they would be legal and not violating the NO THROUGH TRUCK prohibition. A total of 46 citations were issued on Mill Street over a 4-day period.

At the request of Captain Pacewicz, the Traffic Enforcement Unit was detailed to target the area of the Cos Cob hub and specifically the area around the Cos Cob School for parking violations or other violations that contribute to the congestion. During the course of the Enforcement Units time in the hub, parking violators were not observed. This may be due to the fact that school was not in session. The area will again be checked in the end of September while school is in session to re-examine the problem. While the Enforcement Unit was in the hub, 62 citations were issued for a variety of violations.

Next month, several areas that have been previously the targets of enforcement campaigns will be re-counted with the traffic counters to determine if the efforts of the Enforcement Unit have lasted or if the problems are re-surfacing. Several locations that are showing an n actual increase in collision reports will be targeted such as the Post Road in Cos Cob, Hamilton Avenue, and Riversville Road. In addition, we will continue to attempt to address areas surrounding school zones as school has resumed.


Sergeant Timothy Berry
Greenwich Police Department
Traffic Section
11 Bruce Place
Greenwich, CT. 06830
(203) 622-8015
fax 622-8070