The following letter was published in the 12/20/18 issue of the Gazette.
To the editor:
I recently submitted an email question to the Board asking if there was any documentation to indicate if the new 25 mph speed limit has made a difference in driving behavior, especially speeding, since I’ve seen no change. Sadly, the Board had no baseline from which to measure and apparently no records of traffic stops, tickets, etc.
Residents who work in the corporate world know that measurements, data collection and analysis are part of the daily operation: it is what decisions and policies are based on.
In Croton, our Board has implemented a law that has no measurable effect since passage of the law was not based on any Village data, nor is any data being collected to assess the efficacy of the new law. The new traffic policy started with signs that were erected even though they were prohibited under state law, and now this law. The process was flawed from the start and it seems to be a systemic problem.
“In Croton, our Board has implemented a law that has no measurable effect since passage of the law was not based on any Village data, nor is any data being collected to assess the efficacy of the new law.”
This Board has to do a better job of due diligence before implementing new laws and procedures. Making policy based on your gut feeling is no substitute for making policy based on data and following up to see that the policy change has achieved the desired result. That is true whether we are managing a corporation or a village.
My theory is that the Mayor who is the liaison to the Bicycle Pedestrian Committee was pushed to act based on an old study that states there are fewer accidents if you drive 25 mph. True enough and if lowered it to 20 mph and then 15 mph it would continue to decrease.
I searched the Village website to find the minutes of the Bike/Ped committee and could not find any data regarding speeding and accidents in Croton. This might have helped me to understand how this was discussed and came to be. I conclude that without enforcement and measurements you have a law that is nothing more than virtue signaling.
Bob Anderson
Bob is the former Deputy Mayor of Croton.