Council slows effort to reduce speed limit

The issue of whether to seek state permission for the change has been referred back to a committee.

The Common Council has authorized additional funding to pay Kingston police officers’ overtime so they can spend two weeks this fall targeting traffic safety issues throughout the city.

The council on Tuesday adopted a resolution authorizing the use of $20,000 from the city’s contingency fund to cover overtime expenses in the Kingston Police Department. The vote was 8-0. Alderman Steven Schabot, DWard 8, was absent.

“This is going to allow the KPD to work to help our citizens understand the importance of following our traffic safety laws,” council Majority Leader Reynolds ScottChildress said. “At our current manning level in that department, we don’t have enough officers to provide traffic safety a lot of the time. Only some of the time.”

Scott-Childress, D-Ward 3, said the effort will be mainly educational and could serve as a model “as we look forward to increasing the awareness of our citizens about the importance of traffic safety and the importance of people being conscious and courteous on our city streets.”

At a council caucus Monday, Scott-Childress said lawmakers could consider the possibility of adding officers to the police department but that it was just a preliminary suggestion for them to think about.

Kingston Police Chief Egidio Tinti had previously told city lawmakers that his department often is unable to perform dedicated traffic enforcement. He said the newly approved funding will allow his officers to do that work and couple it with school safety work during the back-to-school period.

Tinti said the enforcement period will be advertised ahead of time so it would not be a surprise. He also said his officers will give warnings to drivers who violate the law unless they determine a ticket is necessary. That would be a judgment the officer makes based on the situation and the driver’s history, the chief said.

City officials in recent months have been taking a proactive approach to traffic safety concerns. On May 13, a forum was held specifically to address the topic. And on Tuesday, the council adopted a new policy that would ensure the city’s engineer reviews all requests for traffic-control devices and parking signs prior to lawmakers taking action.