May 5, 2008
Astoria, Oregon
16th Street Traffic Analysis
On May 5, 2006 Astoria City Manager Paul
Benoit of Astoria presented a memorandum to the City Council reporting the
results of a vehicle speed traffic analysis on 16th Street.
This analysis
resulted from over two years of complaints by Astorians
For Liveable Neighborhoods (ALN) and over five
hundred Astoria residents signing a petition complaining about excessively loud
vehicles speeding through Astoria’s neighborhoods,
Data in this analysis supports ALN's complaint
that there is a speeding problem in Astoria; and refutes the City of Astoria's
longtime denial of this fact.
Benoit
spins the facts …
Rather than acknowledge that there is a hardcore group of speeders, the
memorandum’s conclusion skims over the heart of the problem, and highlights
that there is "high level of compliance with posted speed laws".
The rest of the story …
The traffic analysis data shows that on an average day on 16th Street (which
has a 25 MPH speed limit):
§
436 vehicles exceed 30 MPH
§
107 vehicles exceed 35 MPH
§
51 vehicles exceed 40 MPH
§
31 vehicles exceed 45+ MPH
The facts support ALN’s longtime position that
the APD’s laissez-faire traffic enforcement has
resulted in a group of speeders who have no respect for traffic laws.
To put these traffic analysis numbers in perspective, APD issued only one
speeding citation on 16th Street during a 14-month period ending in 2007*.
* By policy and practice, the
Astoria Police Department (APD) does not issue speeding citations in 25 MPH
zones until speeds reach or exceed 35 MPH. City Manager Benoit, Mayor Van Dusen and the City Council have supported this
irresponsible practice. Astoria’s hilly streets and blind intersections make
such a practice even more fool hardy.
