From "250 Or More" To 15! "I Mean, It's Possible." Gettin' It Done At The So-Called SAFETY Committee!

Just over two months ago, HPD Captain David Miller did his best to convince everyone at the May meeting of the so-called SAFETY Committee that HPD issued "200 to 250 or more" speeding tickets in the first quarter of this year.  It was laughable.  It was an outright lie, though Miller conceded that since he didn't have the data with him that he was just approximating.  And it didn't help that, as he admitted later in an email, he thought he was being asked (by two different residents!) about traffic tickets in general, not specifically about speeding tickets.  (Both residents uttered the term "speeding tickets" multiple times.)   Last month, Miller also didn't have the data with him when asked by the same concerned Warren Street resident who showed up to the meeting again and had asked him for the same numbers the month before.  During last Monday's July meeting, Miller didn't have the data again because, as Mishanda Franklin explained, he was on vacation.  It must have been an unplanned vacation, because at last month's meeting Miller was asked by committee chair Henry Haddad if he would bring the speeding ticket data with him to the "next meeting," and he said that he would.  Fortunately, Chef Franklin brought the speeding ticket data for the second quarter with her to share with everyone.

So, how many hundreds of speeding tickets did HPD issue in April, May and June of this year?  Not hundreds, you say?  Okay, how many dozens of speeding tickets did HPD issue?  Not dozens, you say?  Was it more than 12?  Yes, but barely!  HPD apparently issued all of 15 speeding tickets in 90 days, or about one every week.  ONE SPEEDING TICKET PER WEEK.  And not one of those 15 speeding drivers was caught on State Street, Union Street, Columbia Street, Warren Street or any side streets. 

As she wrapped up her report last Monday, Franklin asked Haddad if he wanted to know where the 15 speeding tickets were issued. He said that he did, and that it was "important." Franklin obliged, reading from a piece of paper in front of her. "The general locations were South 3rd Street, Bridge Street, Harry Howard Avenue and Worth Avenue, with the majority being issued at South 3rd Street and Harry Howard Avenue." (Aren't those specific locations, not general ones?) 

My guess -- since Franklin offered no specific (or general!) numbers for each street -- is that 13 speeding tickets were issued on both South 3rd and Harry Howard, while the other two streets each got one ticket.  It must be pointed out that when Franklin mentions speed enforcement on "South 3rd Street," she isn't actually referring to South 3rd Street at all.  South 3rd Street does not extend south all the way to the city line.  But, in her devious way, she'll mention "South 3rd Street" to give the impression that HPD is enforcing the speed limit downtown, like north of Allen Street or near Warren Street, which is not the case and never has been.  What Franklin was referring to instead (and previous police chiefs have been referring to), is HPD's speed trap on 9G (aka, the Bay Road) at the city line by Colarusso's haul road intersection nearly a half mile south of downtown where HPD has been issuing speeding tickets for years so that they can ignoring the speeding problem within the city that truly affects residents' quality-of-life.  

So, at long last, the data is in:  HPD not only doesn't issue speeding tickets downtown where pedestrians are crossing streets all the time, they don't even make an attempt to enforce the speed limit downtown with the use of a speed radar gun. In other words, Mishanda Franklin, David Miller, Margaret Morris, creator of the SAFETY Committee, and Henry Haddad are perfectly satisfied with HPD officers continuing to do what they've done for years: occasionally enforcing the speed limit a half mile south and a half mile north of Warren Street but not anywhere on Warren or a block or three from it (i.e., downtown).  Sounds about right to me!  Maintain the status quo.  Ignore the speeding problem and its concomitant quality-of-life and SAFETY issues.  

In other words, the so-called SAFETY Committee is doing its best to not make life better or safer for Hudson residents.  In other other words, the committee is doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but talking!

A worthwhile chair of a SAFETY Committee certainly would have asked Chief Franklin the following questions.  Why is HPD only issuing one speeding ticket per week, and why were none of them issued on Warren, Front, Union, State, Columbia or any side streets downtown?  Please tell us now if HPD is actively enforcing the speed limit downtown.  And if you are enforcing downtown, where is it happening and why aren't you issuing any tickets?  I ask this because your data is telling us that HPD is not at all enforcing the speed limit downtown.  When was the last time a Hudson police officer issued a speeding ticket to a driver on State Street?  How about on the 9 blocks of Warren Street?  How about the 300 block of Columbia Street?  How about on the 700 or 800 block of Union?  How many speeding tickets do you foresee or hope your officers will issue on these streets in the following month or quarter?  And, perhaps most importantly, Chief Franklin, do you feel that there is generally a speeding problem in downtown Hudson, with any streets worse than others?   If you are aware that the city has a problem with speeding vehicles, particularly on certain blocks, what is HPD doing about it, if anything? Where and how are you preventing speeding vehicles downtown?  And if you don't feel the city has a vehicle speeding problem, that all streets -- including the street you and your family live on -- are without speeding vehicles at all times, what are you paying attention to?

Instead, we get nothing but silence and "thank you for that report" from Henry Haddad.

But we do get worthless questions from council members!  There's always time for those!

After Chief Franklin divulged the first true speeding ticket data that the committee had ever heard (as useless as it was), committee member Dominic Merante had a question for the chief about the 15 tickets.  It was incisive!  It had probably been on his mind for months.

"Is there a time on those?" he asked.

"I don't have the times in front of me.  I think they're on the report, though.  And if they're not on the report, I can get them to you," Franklin responded.  

She doesn't have the quarterly report in front of her?  Now we're cookin' with gas!  

Then, council president Margaret Morris asked, "The South 3rd speeding is almost certainly before you reach Union and Allen, is that correct?"  ("Union and Allen" isn't an intersection, is it, Margaret?  Don't you live in the first ward?  Which direction are you talking about when you say "before"???  Where exactly are you talking about, north or south of "Union and Allen," and how far away is it?)

Franklin responded, dodging the imprecise question. "I mean, it's possible.  But I think everyone was even in excess of 30 miles an hour anyway." 

No kidding, Chief! You "think everyone" was exceeding the speed limit by at least 5 miles an hour?  That's fascinating, instructive and oh so helpful!  Before you leave, are there any other ways you "think" your data regarding the 15 speeding tickets that your officers issued over the past three months can help us achieve our goals here at the SAFETY Committee meeting?

Finally, what on earth does "I mean, it's possible" mean in response to a question about data, even if it is a garbled question?  Isn't that the equivalent of saying, "I don't care about your dumb question, I'm not here to help anyone, I'm doing my best to confuse you, and you can go suck on an egg"?

I can't wait for next month's meeting of the SAFETY Committee! Maybe HPD will offer additional insightful speeding ticket DATA!