Total Madison Police Department traffic citations through the third quarter of 2015 increased compared to 2014, partially thanks to continued Department of Transportation grant initiatives.
MPD Lieutenant Trevor Knight spoke to the Pedestrian, Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Commission Tuesday evening about the Third Quarter Traffic Enforcement Activity Report. The report showed there were 6,946 citations issued in the third quarter, an increase from the second quarter’s 4,943.
Of those, 1,336 citations and 375 warnings came from DOT Bureau of Transportation Safety grant initiatives. The grants allow MPD to place extra officers on patrol at multiple locations to enforce traffic violations by motorists and bicyclists.
The 53 grants deployed officers to over 30 locations to focus on pedestrian safety, bike safety and alcohol and speed enforcement.
“We continue to do these grants and we establish [education] with the people we stop, not just violations,” Lieutenant Knight said during the meeting.
The report also showed that red signal violations were up from 2014. Knight noted there is an awareness problem in Madison.
“There is a problem here in Madison with awareness. And motor vehicle operators being aware of pedestrians in crosswalks, paying attention when they're driving,” he said. “We will do what we can with traffic engineering to educate and put the word out there that when you’re operating a motor vehicle, especially in areas downtown where there is a lot of pedestrians, you need to be very much aware of your surroundings and pay attention to the roadway.”
Both total bicycle crashes and total pedestrian crashes are up from 2014 through the third quarter of 2015.
