Radar sign down due to storms

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By Greg Price
Taber Times
gprice@tabertimes.com

Taber/Vauxhall RCMP Sgt. Kevin McKenna gave his detailed June report to Barnwell council at its July 14 meeting which saw an equal number of calls from June 2015.

RCMP responded to two other Criminal Code, one suspicious person/vehicle, and four administration files.

In the monthly traffic report, RCMP had a huge increase in enforcement in June 2016 compared to 2015 with 13 tickets in 2016 to 0 in 2015. They involved two intersection, two other moving, three seatbelt, and six non-moving. Taber/Vauxhall RCMP dealt with zero collisions in Barnwell for June.

The radar speed sign that the Taber/Vauxhall RCMP was sharing with several other detachments in southern Alberta was being fixed at the time of the Barnwell council meeting which McKenna suspected was due to the inordinate amount of moisture the area has endured with several thunder storms that has affected the computer system. But it is expected to be in the Taber/Vauxhall region for a month before going to another detachment.

The RCMP department gather data from the radar sign on whether or not the area being monitored by the sign actually has a speeding problem, rather than simply lying in wait for any potential speeders to pass by. With the sign, the memory chip inside records the speeds, times and traffic flow in a given area. In addition to gathering data, the highly visible lighted part of the sign lists what speed you are going at or blinks ‘slow down’ if you are going above the posted speed limit.

Barnwell Deputy Mayor Darrell Turner inquired if the village would see the sign once again in its neck of the woods in which McKenna answered in the affirmative.

“You will see to in July and I have it booked for September too,” said McKenna, adding the M.D. of Taber is looking to purchase one of the signs themselves in the future for its personal use in traffic enforcement in the area. “One of the misconceptions out there is it’s photo radar which it isn’t. It’s simply for monitoring and reminding people to slow down. I have a lot of places I want to put it. When we have it in September, we are going to concentrate having it at schools.”

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