Traffic Enforcement Information and Statistics

As related at 4th district leadership meeting on July 15, 2005

• As of July 15, traffic officers had put in 346 hours of extra traffic enforcement in East Pasadena since April 1st, costing almost 20 thousand more than the usual budget.
• An estimated 1009 additional citations were issued April 1 through July 9.
• There were 409 total citations for this area for the same time period in 2004 versus 1399 in 2005.
• Collisions on Foothill were 33 in 2004 versus 20 in 2005.
  
• Saturday and Sunday had the highest issuance with the extra enforcement in 6 hour blocks during the middle of the day.  Monday through Friday the extra enforcement was concentrated from 7 to 9 am and 5 to 7 pm.  The extra effort was put in everyday except holidays or days with other special projects (such as the seat belt enforcement program).
• Most citations were for speeding.  Running red lights were next.
• The vast majority of citations were on Sierra Madre Blvd, next was Foothill, then Michillinda, Riviera Drive, Sierra Madre Villa.
• The police department now has its own Trax machine (separate from the one the city's Department of Transportation uses for its traffic studies).  This is the machine where what looks like a rubber hose is placed across the lanes of a street.  It measures the direction and speed of each vehicle (and bicycle) that crosses it.  It is left in one location for a full week.  The department evaluates the data for the need and best times for officers to do traffic enforcement.
• By state law, the city must set speed limits to the 85th percentile of the actual traffic speed on a street rounded down to nearest 5 mph.  An additional 5 mph can be subtracted for residential areas or special situations.
  
• Pasadena's red light cameras are full motion video which takes pictures starting with the light turning yellow. Unlike cameras taking a single picture, this makes it very difficult to beat Pasadena's red light camera tickets.  They have also captured some accidents.
  
• Pasadena's red light cameras are also being upgraded so that can capture right turns on red when a full stop was not made behind the limit line first.
• Red light cameras will soon be added at a bunch more intersections including Colorado & San Gabriel.
  

As related at 4th district leadership meeting on March 18, 2005

• As part of the development agreement for Hastings Village, an East Pasadena Policing Fund was created by the developer.  It has been used to fund the police substation on East Colorado.  The fund will be just about exhausted when the substation lease expires in June 2006.  It is expected the substation will then close.

• Recently the HOPE team has been co-located at the East Pasadena substation, resulting in more police cars coming and going in East Pasadena.

• There has been a rash of vehicle burglaries in east Pasadena.   Keep things out of sight and lock doors - even in your driveway.

• There are 15 traffic / motorcycle officers for the city.

• Control of traffic has three components:  education, engineering, enforcement.

• Lt. Mills has been analyzing data on traffic collisions and citations from throughout the city.  Twenty different factors are tracked for each collision, and he is trying to also organize the tickets with the same factors.  Trying to determine where and what the worst problems are and focus officers on those when they aren't working the scene of a collision.

• For the 6 months of July 1 to Dec 31, 2004, there were 1364 collisions elsewhere in Pasadena and 254 in East Pasadena service area.  The East Pasadena service area is basically east of Altadena Drive.

• Are making a big push on pedestrian safety, including citing drivers for not making a full stop at limit lines and for turning in front of pedestrians.   Do sometimes give a warning instead of a citation (officer's descretion), but that warning is entered into the computer so that the next time a driver is stopped the officer is aware they have already been warned.

• Based on collision and citation statistics, intend to focus extra enforcement on the following:

• Entire length of Sierra Madre Blvd.
• Foothill / Rosemead (21 accidents since Jan 2002, including 9 injury accidents)
• Colorado / Madre (31 accidents)
• Colorado / San Gabriel (32 accidents, including 11 injury accidents)

• Lower Hastings neighborhood association has much concern about left turn from eastbound Foothill onto Halstead.  Left turn light only works sometimes.  Cars can wait several lights get through.

• Victory Rose neighborhood association has lots of problems with Pasadena High School students and parents.  Much concern about intersection of Woodlyn Road with Washington Blvd.  Interest in making Woodlyn no outlet to Washington.