This is presented here as it was written in the Amherst Bulletin, with permission.
Also in PDF form, Speed trap decried.pdf (In the pdf, the relevant portion is the second news story.)
Speed trap decried
LEVERETT - An Amherst resident irked by a speeding ticket has created a Web site attempting to drop what he calls an illegal speed trap on Route 63. The town’s acting police chief says he won’t stop patrols there, but says the Web site might get motorists to slow down.
Philip Garrow started the www.leverettspeedtrap.com Web site to raise awareness about a place Leverett police patrol on Route 63 near the intersection with Bull Hill Road after receiving a ticket for speeding.
Acting Police Chief Kelson Ting said the Web site can only help his department’s patrolling efforts.
”If he’s got a Web site, that’s good for us. We want people to slow down,” Ting said.
The Web site was put up after Garrow met with selectmen last month and spent more than an hour explaining why he thinks a 45 mph zone on Route 63 is illegal and why he thinks it is inappropriate for Leverett to be profiting from speeding tickets.
Ting calls these claims ”ridiculous.’
”I totally disagree with that,” Ting said. ”It’s what I hate doing the most is issuing tickets.”
Ting said most complaints his department receives are about speeding. He tries to have one officer always available to send to areas for which police receive the most speeding complaints.
Selectmen Chairwoman Fenna Lee Bonsignore said it is not accurate that the town has put patrols on the street to raise money.
”We’re doing it because speeding cars is an issue,” Bonsignore said. ”Our biggest complaint in town is the speed of cars.”
Ting said he can’t remove a speed patrol location because of one person objects to it.
”I’ve got to do what’s best for the whole community,” Ting said.
Ting recently received a $5,500 community policing grant to purchase a speed traffic board. This will be used as a warning, alerting drivers to their speeds.