By John Burton
MONMOUTH BEACH – This year the borough police department has been busy with traffic stops. They’ve written so many more summonses as compared to last year, police officers may be getting a little writer’s cramp.
“The traffic stops are up,” said Police Chief Thomas Walsh. And with the stops, so are the number of tickets officers have given to presumably unhappy motorists.
According to Walsh, from January to July this year, the department has recorded a 33 percent increase in moving violations over the same period last year. The actual number of summonses went from 511 in 2015 to 682 for this year’s period. Parking violations went up by a whopping 95 percent, from 210 tickets to 411.
The department has again been participating in the Monmouth County DWI Task Force, and the local department has had a 66 percent increase in driving while intoxicated arrests for this period. There have been 10 arrests so far this year, compared to last year’s six arrests.
Many of the moving violations are for speeding, and for drivers illegally using handheld devices. Walsh explained that, depending on the nature of the stop, there may be multiple violations issued, also contributing to the increase.
The increased enforcement is an outgrowth of an email survey conducted by a parent for the school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). “There were some things of concern here, traffic safety-wise,” especially speeding, the survey found, Walsh noted.
The survey and findings prompted borough officials to start a traffic safety committee. Participating is the chief, superintendent of schools, borough administrator, the governing body and a traffic safety engineer.
MONMOUTH BEACH – This year the borough police department has been busy with traffic stops. They’ve written so many more summonses as compared to last year, police officers may be getting a little writer’s cramp.
“The traffic stops are up,” said Police Chief Thomas Walsh. And with the stops, so are the number of tickets officers have given to presumably unhappy motorists.
According to Walsh, from January to July this year, the department has recorded a 33 percent increase in moving violations over the same period last year. The actual number of summonses went from 511 in 2015 to 682 for this year’s period. Parking violations went up by a whopping 95 percent, from 210 tickets to 411.
The department has again been participating in the Monmouth County DWI Task Force, and the local department has had a 66 percent increase in driving while intoxicated arrests for this period. There have been 10 arrests so far this year, compared to last year’s six arrests.
Many of the moving violations are for speeding, and for drivers illegally using handheld devices. Walsh explained that, depending on the nature of the stop, there may be multiple violations issued, also contributing to the increase.
The increased enforcement is an outgrowth of an email survey conducted by a parent for the school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). “There were some things of concern here, traffic safety-wise,” especially speeding, the survey found, Walsh noted.
The survey and findings prompted borough officials to start a traffic safety committee. Participating is the chief, superintendent of schools, borough administrator, the governing body and a traffic safety engineer.
“As a result we definitely did step up traffic enforcement,” Walsh said. In addition, officials purchased a traffic data collector. It is an inconspicuous, gray box that police place on a utility pole that monitors the traffic speed over a designated period. This allows the department to determine where and when drivers are traveling too fast. “When you’re a small police department like ours it’s important to have them out there at the right times.” The Monmouth Beach Police Department is comprised of eight, full-time officers, Walsh said.
Certain roads are susceptible to speeding. Ocean Avenue, which is also known as State Highway 36 and the major thoroughfare for the community, has a 40 miles per hour speed limit. There are also more heavily traveled secondary roadways such as Beach Road, Riverdale Avenue, Patten Avenue and Wesley Street, which, like all borough streets, has a speed limit of 25 mph.
Certain roads are susceptible to speeding. Ocean Avenue, which is also known as State Highway 36 and the major thoroughfare for the community, has a 40 miles per hour speed limit. There are also more heavily traveled secondary roadways such as Beach Road, Riverdale Avenue, Patten Avenue and Wesley Street, which, like all borough streets, has a speed limit of 25 mph.
Those getting parking tickets, Walsh said, tend to be those leaving their vehicles in a municipal lot without the proper permit, and others using non-permitted areas for the beach, with tickets generally increasing during the summer months.
The public response to the stepped up enforcement “has been a mix,” Walsh acknowledged. “As with everything you can’t make people happy,” he said with a chuckle.
Some residents have offered their appreciation for the crackdown while others contend it’s just a moneymaker for the Municipal Court. Walsh bristles at that charge, insisting, “I can assure you and anyone who wants to know, I’ve never once had a conversation about the financial part of it, with the governing body, with the court; it’s never been a consideration at all.”
To improve safety, the borough has also added school crossing guard posts, repainted crosswalks, purchased two new digital speed limit display signs and regularly uses a fairly large variable message board for speed limit messages around the community, according to the chief.
The public response to the stepped up enforcement “has been a mix,” Walsh acknowledged. “As with everything you can’t make people happy,” he said with a chuckle.
Some residents have offered their appreciation for the crackdown while others contend it’s just a moneymaker for the Municipal Court. Walsh bristles at that charge, insisting, “I can assure you and anyone who wants to know, I’ve never once had a conversation about the financial part of it, with the governing body, with the court; it’s never been a consideration at all.”
To improve safety, the borough has also added school crossing guard posts, repainted crosswalks, purchased two new digital speed limit display signs and regularly uses a fairly large variable message board for speed limit messages around the community, according to the chief.
