Police, city mull ways to reduce speeding

MILTON — The Milton Police Department has received multiple complaints about speeding on Berryhill Road, Canal Street, Saratoga Avenue and Aston Woods Circle, which are used as shortcuts from one major roadway to another. 

According to Chief Tony Tindell, the police department and city staff have been working to institute traffic calming measures to reduce speeding and ensure the safety of residents who live on these streets.

“So far, what we’ve been doing is setting up traffic details with officers around running radar in groups, and trying to get the drivers’ attention,” Tindell said. “Then we’re also conducting research on purchasing a couple more of the lighted speed signs … we’ve got one on Berryhill that’s just east of Dogwood Drive.”

Tindell said the speed signs they currently have are battery powered, and that creates an issue for officers.

“We have to go out at least once a week and change out the battery, and I really don’t want to get several of those around town, because sometimes it’s hard to change that battery on time,” Tindell said. “It calls for service and stuff gets interrupted, and next thing you know, you’ve missed out. So we’re getting the prices for the ones that are solar powered or they have solar power battery chargers on them.”

Tindell said the police department would like to purchase new signs before the year’s budget is out; the city manager and city council would need to approve the purchase.

Berryhill Road has been a problem for years because it is an easy cut-through from Stewart Street to Dogwood Drive, according to Tindell.

“I’ve been discussing with the city manager (Brian Watkins) other options. He had mentioned the last time [we spoke] about possibly putting some stop signs on Berryhill Road,” Tindell said. “I don’t know if we’re going to move forward with that or not, but we’re looking at really trying to determine as many options as we can and go that route.”

Berryhill is the police department’s top concern, although Tindell said they are aware of issues on other roads and regularly run radar throughout the city. The police department should have prices on signs to present to the city manager by next week, and the issue will likely be discussed at the next Committee of the Whole meeting.

“You can do a lot of stuff but some people — especially nowadays — they’re so distracted from their driving with other things that they don’t watch their speed as closely as they should,” Tindell said.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Police, city mull ways to reduce speeding