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Windsor Town Councilman Edward “Gibbie” Dowdy noted during the council’s July 9 meeting that motorists had begun speeding again on Bank Street following the removal of RADAR-equipped speed monitoring signs utilized by the Windsor Police Department.

Dowdy conferred with WPD Chief Rodney “Dan” Riddle regarding the matter during the meeting. Riddle also later shared insights in a Wednesday, July 17, interview regarding motorist behavior on Bank Street and his department’s process for responding to citizen input.

During the council meeting, Dowdy said, “The speed sign that we had on Bank Street slowed them down for a while, but since you’ve taken it back down, they’ve started speeding up again.”

Riddle said a $6,000 investment would allow the option to put a speed monitoring sign on Bank Street permanently.

Dowdy asked Riddle if the signs had been damaged, but Riddle noted they had simply been moved.

In a July 17 interview, Riddle said, “The signs are currently deployed on Church Street. They were deployed to that location because of citizen complaints about speeding involving dump trucks.”

The chief noted that the WPD deploys the signs for 10-14 days in areas where complaints have been received with the goal of reminding drivers of the speed limit and of their own speeds. 

“In addition, the signs will gather data that helps WPD to determine if there is an actual speeding problem,” he said. “Shortly after the signs are removed, data is reviewed and speed enforcement will be based on the data.”

During the council meeting, Dowdy said, “If we could post an officer every now and then there, just to maybe give a few warnings to slow down a little bit…”

Riddle indicated that officers had stopped a vehicle for speeding that morning, and because of the stop, the driver was issued six summonses for multiple moving, equipment and registration violations.

“Thank you for your help right there, because they have been flying there,” Dowdy said.

In the July 17 interview, Riddle shared data on motorist activity on Bank Street, a roadway where the speed limit is 25 mph.

He said his department reviewed the recent data captured by its RADAR-equipped speed signs that were posted on Bank Street from May 28-June 8. 

“WPD captured data from 38,000 vehicles during that period traveling both directions on Bank Street,” he stated. “The average speed of vehicles was 27.5 mph.”

He noted that the maximum speed recorded was 70 mph.

“The highest concentrations of speeding offenses more than 10 mph or more over the posted limit were determined to be occurring between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays,” he said.

Riddle also provided insight into the work his department has been doing on Bank Street during the month of July.

“WPD conducted approximately 20 traffic stops and issued 15 summonses for speeding, one for driving while suspended and one for an inspection violation, three drivers were issued warnings for violations during the period from July 1, 2024, through July 17, 2024,” he stated.