Greenwich NY has a number of highly travelled roads outside the town with the same 30 MPH speed limits it has in their downtown area. These areas don’t have schools, developments or any other characteristics that warrant these extremely low limits. The limits are well below what any rational, prudent, law abiding citizen would reasonably expect and are not justified by the road and traffic conditions.
There are other areas in the town with shopping plazas, gas stations, coffee shops and homes that have higher limits of 40 MPH, giving any rational person reason to believe the only reason for the excessively low and unexpected speed limits is to raise revenues visa vie the issuance of speeding tickets.
Everyday, local police patrol these unreasonably low speed limit districts and aggressively issue speeding tickets. Not only is the issuance of those tickets unfair they are also prejudiced. Tickets are never issued to local lawyers, politicians, business people and of course other police officers. It is “profiling” and simply compounds the unfairness and injustice. This is as unfair as it would be to only ticket African Americans or Jews or Women or any other law abiding segment of our society.
The town’s tactics are notorious enough that law firms from out of that immediate area have websites dedicated to capitalizing on the injustices. Try searching “Greenwich NY Speeding Ticket”.
I recently received one of those tickets. I was told by a local lawyer, “you are 100% right, however, there is no way to beat them.”
www.greenwichspeedtrap.com is my answer to him and the Greenwich Community. It is a site where, at the very least, anyone is free to publically express his or her outrage at these unfair tactics.
To the community that elected these corrupt leaders and turn their heads everyday to these unfair acts, I boycott all local businesses there and encourage everyone to do the same until these practices stop and the powers that be publically apologize. This is a community that is economically faltering and their belligerent welcoming strategy can only ill serve them.
I also encourage you to write, call and email these local “leaders” and express your opinion. Silence and apathy only passively encourage the status quo.
The Village of Greenwich Board of Trustees"
David Doonan, Mayor greenwichmayor@gmail.com
The Village of Greenwich Board of Trustees:
Cathy Brown mkinsel1@nycap.rr.com
Dorothea Casey dacasey@nycap.rr.com
Lyle Hayes lyleh@nycap.rr.com
Tim Taylor timothy.taylor@ge.com
George Bell, Chief of Police chiefbell@cambridgeny.gov
Chris Copeland, Chamber of Commerce chris@grinmobile.com
I live in Saratoga Springs and ski at Killington every weekend in the winter. Over the years I have gotten two tickets in Greenwich on the east side of town.
ReplyDeleteI often take 149 across simply to avoid passing through Greenwich just because of that. That does better than boycott their town - that totally eliminates their town.
It is, in short, a legal way of extorting money from outsiders. Thanks for creating this site - it was a good idea!!!
If they were really concerned about safety in those areas on the outside of town they'd put up a blinking yellow signal, put in speed bumps and/or direct the police officers to issue warnings.
ReplyDeleteThis is clearly about $$$!!!
In my opinion it is a form of extortion if in fact none of the influential locals get tickets.
If it quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck, and has a beak luck a duck, and involves small town politics - it must be a speedtrap!!!!
ReplyDeleteMuch thanks for creating this site.
I've been the subject of their legal piracy!!!
I know exactly where that speed trap is -- it is located on Rt. 372 and just as you are coming down the hill going west just right after the 30 mph sign, there is a road that veers off to the right where they lie in wait for you. The road has a white pillar in the middle of it.
ReplyDeleteI never got a speeding ticket in my whole life (over 25 years of driving), but they nabbed me there and upon talking to many, many others who take that road more frequently, it happens to nearly everyone at some time. It is easy to miscalculate your speed because you are coming down from a hill and still in the country.
There is also another notorious speed trap in the next town over in Cambridge, NY on Rt. 372 at the junction of County Rd. 59 (also in the country). Beware of that one also! It is listed in this website: http://www.speedtrap.org/city/7512/Cambridge
It's the same police department that issues tickets in both of these towns. Ugh ... talk about desperation!
Interesting that this was written during the holiday peek time because that is when they are out in force.
ReplyDeleteI *used* to like to go holiday shopping in Cambridge, NY and Manchester, VT, but after being caught in two speed traps along the way from Saratoga, I ended that bit of folly.
While Greenwich is the worst offender with the cops sitting in wait in well-known speed traps that have gotten every Saratoga resident I know (30 mph in farm country on a hill, for pete's sake!), Schuylerville and Cambridge come in second. You gotta love that speed trap going back towards Saratoga in Schuylerville which happens when you come down that very steep hill on Rt. 29 going west. 30 mph in the woods with not a house around! It is right before you are crossing River Road aka County Route 113. Screech on the brakes! That's a safe way to drive (not).
Glad to see a blog about this. Even the lawyers that handle speeding tickets from this area have gotten caught in the same speed traps. If it's unreasonable, if it's a small town, if it's economy is iffy, then it must be a speed trap.