Paul Bass Photo
Officer Robert Williams and Sgt. Mark O’Neill revved their engines and drove off with a newly doubled motorcycle team looking for speeding or cellphone-chatting drivers.
The traffic cops drove off from City Hall Wednesday morning, where officials announced an expanded effort to keep streets safe for travel to coincide with the true beginning of spring.
The police have purchased new motorcycles and doubled from six to 12 the number of cops assigned to the traffic enforcement division. The department will now be able to mount simultaneous traffic-monitoring operations both during day shifts and at night.
“We must do all we can to separate cars and trucks from ‘vulnerable users’” — i.e. pedestrians and cyclists—declared Mayor Toni Harp. If those users come into contact with moving vehicles, “the vulnerable user will lose.”
“As we all know,” said City transit chief Doug Hausladen, “April is Distracted Driving Month.” He said the stepped-up police patrols coincide with city government efforts to “push out our “Safe Streets message” and to create new separated bike lanes (aka cycle tracks).
Will these Motorcycle cops actually stop the legions of straight pipe- (unmuffled) motorcycles who think it their right to violate everyone's space and tranquility with their obnoxiously loud motorcycles?
These motorcyclists drive through city streets with impunity, violating noise ordinances at all hours of the day and night. Have you ever seen one get pulled over and given a ticket? Neither have I. I hope these motorcycle cops will do more than make life difficult for New Haven residents and tax payers trying to get to work or simply traveling within city limits. I will check back later in the month to see how many tickets were given for excessive noise. I will be enforcing the enforcers to make sure they are doing their jobs and not just joy riding.