5 mph over limit could be costly

River Hills — Police Chief Tom Rischmann doesn't know of any community that tickets drivers exceeding the speed limit by just 5 mph, but village trustees would like officers to start doing just that - particularly for speeders on Green Tree Road between Jean Nicolet and River roads.

"I have people telling me they are stopped in Fox Point and Whitefish Bay for going 6 mph over," said Trustee Steve Anderson. "Isn't that what we want?"

Cracking down on speeders on that stretch of Green Tree would be one way to deal with traffic complaints from residents concerning that road, which has already been subjected to other controversial measures.

In November, the Village Board approved a partial closure of the road, but that action resulted in a lawsuit by the city of Glendale and Nicolet School District asking that the entire street remain open. The street hasn't closed yet, and the case is pending in federal court.

Police chief has doubts

Whether police actually will start writing tickets for drivers going five or six miles over the 25 mph limit seemed doubtful.

Rischmann said most departments issue warnings when drivers are 12 miles over the limit but don't stop motorists until they reach that speed.

"I don't know of any community that issues citations at six over," Rischmann said. "The village would get a bad reputation (with that enforcement)."

The discussion at last week's Village Board meeting ended in a standoff. Trustees want stricter enforcement; Rischmann does not think that is direction the department should take, particularly in light of the results achieved through increased patrol on Green Tree over the last year.

Hundreds of tickets written

During the last four months of 2009, the department issued 128 citations and 84 warnings, while in the first five months of 2010, there were 94 citations issued and 57 warnings.

The most commonly issued citation was for failing to obey a sign, specifically the no-left-turn sign at Green Tree and Jean Nicolet roads. Between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, from Sept. 1 through June 15, left turns are banned at that corner.

There were 59 citations issued for failing to stop at the sign during the last four months of 2009, another 53 during the first five months of 2010. Students are arriving at nearby Nicolet High School during that time frame.

Rischmann said almost all of those who were cited for failing to obey the left-turn sign are adults, not high school students. Although residents complain about speeding, Rischmann talked with his officers who said that often an hour passes before they can stop someone for speeding along that portion of Green Tree. The speed limit is 25 mph.

Resident Steve Simon, 811 W. Green Tree Road, suggested that because the police have been present during the Nicolet arrival time, they have not caught all the speeders.

"I don't believe Nicolet is the problem," he said. "There is so much traffic it moves slowly. During the weekend it is bad on both days."

Dozen accidents since '06

Rischmann also provided the board with accident statistics dating back to 2006.

There were a total of 12 accidents through May 2010. All were related to the intersections, with seven at Jean Nicolet and Green Tree, three at Elm Tree and Green Tree and 2 at River and Green Tree.

The department has also been monitoring traffic at Spruce and Fairy Chasm roads, near University School, in recent months. There were six stop-sign citations issued there during the first five months of the year.