BY TIMOTHY LA ROCHE
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CORNISH — When drivers navigate the bend in Route 120 near Creamery Road, the first inclination is often to maintain speed.
Although the speed limit entering Cornish Flat sees a quick drop before the road snakes from rural to a more densely populated village area, compliance has been a longstanding issue, Chief Douglas Hackett said during the towns annual meeting.
In response to speeding concerns, the Cornish Police Department is taking steps to slow motorists with speed-reading signs. The signs will flash the speed of passing cars, giving drivers a better sense of the legal speed limit in the area.
“I can’t put an officer out there all the time,” Hackett said. “Unless someone wants to hire three more officers, there is going to be this problem there.”
Despite Hackett’s proposal during town meeting day to purchase the signs coming with a $9,000 price tag, support was overwhelming as several residents living in the area of Cornish Flat raised concerns about persistent speeding issues.
Past efforts to curb the issue were largely ineffective, however, Hackett said. As drivers passed by the speed traps that the department had previously tried, they would alert other motorists of the hidden officers. As a result, speeding posed few problems while police officers were patrolling.
The push for speed-reading signs works off a similar principle that the presence of law enforcement on the roadway makes drivers operate more carefully. By posting the signs, Hackett said he hopes drivers will be more cautious and aware of their driving.
While crime rates have remained low in Cornish – the department fielded less than 900 calls for service in 2017 – vehicle-related incidents occupy an increasingly prominent position in police requests in the town. In 2017, the town saw eight arrests for driving while intoxicated, a slight increase from the year before. However, motor vehicle stops were involved in more than a quarter of the department’s responses.
The town also saw more 40 car accidents in 2017.
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