Whether Springfield has a speeding issue may come down to the data.
Addressing the board of supervisors at its September meeting, Police Chief Michael McDonald expressed some skepticism about the extent of the problem, which he said could be based on misconceptions.
“Just because we get a speeding complaint doesn’t mean there’s a speeding issue,” McDonald said. “I defer to the data.”
The chief conceded getting accurate information was a multi-step process.
“More data points is key,” he said. “I think we do have to establish we do have a problem on any given road and then go after the remedy.”
The officer said he had met with the township manager and planned to seek input from Palisades staff about the issue, and he stressed the force would do the best it could despite its limited manpower.
“It’s a huge township,” McDonald said. “Trying to cover it with one or two guys on the road is very difficult, but we’ll work with what we got and we’ll be out there.”
In other business, supervisors approved a motion increasing Peppermint Road’s speed limit from 25 mph to 35 mph, and the installation of a stop sign at the Deer Trail Road intersection with Peppermint.
Engineer Tim Fulmer expressed concern that people would “gun it” after the sign. However, McDonald defended the increase, saying speed differences rather than speeding were a key factor in many crashes. “Doing the 25 mph, you have a significant difference in speed. What we want to do is minimize the difference in speed,” he said.
Also, Christmas will come early for township public works employees; several will see pay increases of up to $2 per hour, a knock-on effect of the last month’s hire of a road crew employee at $23.50. Supervisor Jim Hopkins justified the move, noting one of the new hire’s soon-to-be co-workers was only making slightly more at $25 an hour after three years, and another, an 11-year veteran, was making $27.75.
In correspondence, former Environmental Advisory Council member Arianne Elinich criticized the recent decision to end virtual meetings. In her letter, obtained by the Herald, Elinich urged the board to reinstate the Zoom option, noting the continued threat of COVID-19 made the online option necessary. The township maintains the broadcasts are not cost effective because only a handful of people were accessing the meetings online. A majority of residents surveyed in 2022 said they got their news from other residents, followed by township online and print publications, and social media. Newspapers came a distant fifth.
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