Marina Police urges drivers to slow down

Marina Police have a new tool in their arsenal that they hope will send the message to drivers, “Slow down!” The LIDAR device is able to properly read the speeds of individual drivers more accurately than radar.

Last year in Marina there were 317 car crashes, a 17% increase from 2013. Nearly 80% of them happened on the city’s three main commuter routes, including Imjin Parkway. That busy roadway is now being shared by cars, bicyclists, even joggers.

The speed limit on Imjin Parkway is supposed to be 45 mph, but police are seeing speeds as high as 80 mph. They say they fear it will continue, especially because of the new improvements.

“It’s way too fast and even more so now because of the improvements we’ve recently had on Imjim Parkway with the pedestrian and bicycle lanes being added on both sides,” Sgt. Eddie Anderson, Marina Police Traffic Unit Supervisor said. “Now we starting to see people actually use those. And people are traveling at those speeds still.”

LIDAR works like a radar gun. Officers point the device at a specific car and can read their speed and distance within seconds. Unlike radar guns, these allow officers to more accurately pinpoint which car was speeding.

Last year in a two week span, 20 speeding tickets were given. This year, in that same two week span, officers handed out 140 tickets. They say, it’s not their goal to write as many tickets as possible, they’d prefer people to police themselves.

“What we would like is for more people to be aware of their speed,” Sgt. Anderson said. “Pay attention to the speed limit signs and surroundings and make a commitment to slow down.”

That would free them up to concentrate other traffic choke-points throughout the city. Other measures the department has taken – a traffic sign on Imjin Parkway reminding drivers of the speed limit, and a grant request for more equipment.