The speed limit on
Calumet Road--both North and South Calumet Road--north of Porter Ave. is 20
miles per hour. South of Porter Ave. the speed limit jumps to 30 mph.
But motorists who
actually obey the 20-mph speed limit, or even just sort of obey it, often
find themselves tailgated.
Now the Chesterton
Police Commission is considering bringing the posted limit north of Porter
Ave. more in line with the limit south of it.
The issue, in fact,
occasioned quite a bit of discussion at the commission’s meeting Friday
morning, after Police Chief Dave Cincoski reported that a traffic study
conducted of North Calumet Road only--between Wabash Ave. and River
Ave.--found that 89 percent of motorists actually travel quite a bit faster
than 20 mph: 29, to be exact.
That 89th
percentile finding is enough to warrant an increase in the speed limit but
only by 5 mph. That’s because, Cincoski said, under the Indiana Uniform
Manual of Traffic Control Devices, speed limits may only go up in 5-mph
increments, and only by a single 5-mph increment per study.
Members were about
to endorse an increase in the posted limit on North Calumet Road when Town
Council Member--and CPD liaison--Emerson DeLaney, R-5th, suggested that
three different speed limits along a single stretch of roadway might make
for odd driving habits and traffic patterns: 30 mph on South Calumet Road
between 1100N to Porter Ave.; 20 mph on South Calumet between Porter Ave.
and the Norfolk-Southern grade-crossing; and then 25 mph on North Calumet
Road between the railroad tracks and Indian Boundary Road
“I’m just looking
at smoothness,” DeLaney said.
In the end members
voted unanimously to conduct a second, more comprehensive traffic study of
the prevailing speeds along Calumet Road between Porter Ave. and River Ave.,
with a view to the feasibility and advisability of increasing the posted
limit along the whole stretch to 25 mph.
Re: Parking
Violations
In other business,
members voted unanimously on Cincoski’s recommendation to endorse an
increase in the late fee for a parking-violation fine from $15 to $25, over
and above the $25 fine itself. A person issued a parking ticket has 10 days
in which to pay it. Under current Town Code, that fine is automatically
bumped to $40 if not paid in 10 days; under the proposed amendment, it would
jump to $50.
As part of that
vote, members also endorsed a change of the venue at which folks must pay
their fines for parking violations: from the CPD to the Clerk-Treasurer’s
Office in the municipal complex at 1490 Broadway.
The Town Council
must take action on the proposed amendment to Town Code.
Open Corporalcy
Meanwhile, members
voted unanimously to hold an executive session at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 29,
for the purpose of interviewing four first-class officers who have applied
for promotion to an open corporalcy in the department.
Welcome Aboard,
Pete Duda
Orlich took a
moment at the beginning of the meeting to welcome the commission’s newest
member: Pete Duda, who served with the CPD himself for 31 years before
retiring with the rank of lieutenant and in the position of patrol
commander.
“It’s great to see
you back,” Orlich said.
Notes of Gratitude
The commission took
receipt of three thank-you notes:
¥From the Westlund
Family, with a $100 contribution to the CFD Gift Fund enclosed: “Thank you
very much for keeping our community safe. I especially appreciate your
presence at the Duneland Schools which encourages kids to think of officers
as their friends and neighbors.”
¥From Burns Harbor
Town Marshal Mike Heckland, expressing gratitude to the CPD for
participating in the saturation patrol on May 19 occasioned by a visit of
the Hells Angels to a Burns Harbor tavern for a charity event.
¥And from an
anonymous well-wisher: “Thank you for defending our community each day with
your life. The sacrifices you make each day are truly appreciated. You are a
brave police officer and our hero! From an appreciative neighbor and
friend.”
May in Review
In May the CPD
responded to 795 calls (749 in April); filed 68 cases (70); issued 100
citations and 89 warnings (57 and 103); and investigated 38 accidents with
19 injuries (39 accidents with nine injuries).
Calls for service
in April included the following: 105 suspicious vehicles or persons (73); 24
thefts (zero); 43 alarms (45); one overdose (one); 10 animal complaints
(11); 266 traffic stops (257); two missing persons (one); one report of
battery (two); two burglaries (zero); 20 disturbances (26); one report of
forgery/counterfeit (zero); two reports of fraud (four); one report of
sexual assault (one); and two reports of sex offenses (two).