Meetings are held remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you are interested in to read its agenda and find information on how to view and take part remotely.
Thursday, April 15
- Eastham Affordable Housing Trust, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, April 20
- Recycling Committee, 5 p.m.
- T-Time Committee, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, April 21
- Open Space Committee, 3 p.m.
- Planning Board, 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 22
- Barnstable County Dept. of Human Services, 3 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Revving Up Traffic Enforcement
A discussion of traffic enforcement at the April 5 select board meeting steered the board into drafting a letter to the state about Route 6.
“I’m just wondering if we have any means whatsoever to improve the state’s responsibility and accountability for handling this,” said board member Jared Collins.
“I’m more than willing to write it,” said Art Autorino, whose frustration with speeders on Route 6 is well known.
“And I’m more than willing to deliver it,” added board member Al Cestaro.
Police Chief Adam Bohannon had requested a chance to update the board on traffic enforcement.
“I think we can all agree we have seen a traffic volume increase this winter, or a lack of decrease, I guess, if you look at it the other way,” said Bohannon.
Bohannon said that, since Jan. 1, his officers had stopped over 800 vehicles for violations, and
overtime pay has been used to increase police patrols during busier times.
New digital signs have been set up that advise drivers of their speed and the speed limit; they flash when a vehicle exceeds a set speed. While those signs do not record data, the speed trailer used by the department does, including average speeds, high speeds, and time of day the most traffic and violations go by, to allow police to target their enforcement.
A traffic safety awareness week will be scheduled early in May.
A police motorcycle leased through a donation from the family of the late Gunther J. Klink is expected to arrive in the next four to six weeks, and will be used by Officer Jacob McGrath.
Plans for the department include an unmarked but fully equipped patrol car that Bohannon said would be used specifically for traffic enforcement.
“I think an unmarked car could be very well utilized for distracted driving, for texting, whatever else is going on in a vehicle that is not keeping your eyes on the road and concentrating on what you’re doing,” said Bohannon. Many accidents are caused by distracted driving, especially in the summer when the roads are congested, he said.
With the town often having only two police officers on patrol during a shift, they are frequently called away from traffic enforcement. Dedicating an eight-hour shift to traffic enforcement would require increasing staff, noted Bohannon, adding that his dept. is currently the same size it was in 1996.
“I would be more than willing to support those additional personnel,” said Autorino. —Linda Culhane
