New crosswalk on PHB and Leonard

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

A few weeks ago, a crosswalk appeared there overnight. Most days since then, a speed trap also usually appears.

Keep your speed down on Powder House Blvd, folks.

I guess the upshot is that this might deter the assholes that go the wrong way on Leonard.

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I hope they're also ticketing, or at least warning, drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. (And maybe that's the real purpose to what looks to the casual eye to be a speed trap?)

[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

I hope they also ticket the people that are jaywalking in that area even with the new crosswalk.

[boywonder.livejournal.com]

i like this.

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

If it wasn't a speed trap, would a cop be outside his car with a speed gun pointing up the road?

One other fun thing to note is that the cop is usually half parked on the curb and half on the road, and usually with the car pointing in the opposite direction of the offenders so a rubber burning u-turn is needed. Why he doesn't just park on Leonard is beyond me.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Depends on the type of speed gun. LIDAR (laser) needs to be aimed at the target vehicle, because the beam is thin. Radar doesn't--but it's more accurate if you do, because that way you can have a greater degree of certainty as to which vehicle is returning the speed reading. (Radar beams fan out over distance, like a cone. Lidar beams don't, like a pencil.)

As for why the cop doesn't park with his tail facing traffic, or on the cross street with his door facing traffic, the fact that from both those angles you can see lettering that says "SOMERVILLE POLICE" might have something to do with it. From the front, it's just a white Crown Vic facing traffic--might be a cab that stopped to pick up or drop off a fare.