Traffic enforcement - Not a revenue generator for the Township

Sometimes people will tell me that the only reason the Township is having its Police write traffic tickets is because we need the revenue. Nothing could be further from the truth. If a motorist fails to stop at a stop sign, the basic fine is $25.00, the state returns 1/2 of that amount to the Township, or $12.50. On top of the $25.00 fine, the state levies extra fees of $84.50 that are all kept by the state, so out of a $109.50 traffic ticket, the Township will receive back from the state $12.50, the state keeps $97.00. If the violation is for speeding,the basic fine is $35.00, the Township receives $17.50 of that amount. The cost of enforcing that traffic law is many times that amount, which often includes court time.

So, it is certainly not a revenue generator for the Township as the Township must absorp the costs of its police department. Traffic laws are strictly enforced in the Township by our well trained, professional police department because it saves lives! Excessive speed and careless driving are a significant cause of traffic accidents. Our Police work hard to create a safe community for our residents and visitors. So please, the next time you see one of Cranberry Township's Police Officers on the side of the road with a traffic stop, it is not about raising revenue for the Township it is about keeping everyone safe on our highways, and please let them know you appreciate their dedication to our safety.

Welcome to The Cranberry Blog! And what is it with these sidewalks?

With the launch of this column, Cranberry is officially stepping into the blogosphere.

Along with some of my colleagues in the Township, we will be offering comments about issues concerning Cranberry that people keep telling us are on their minds. Some of it will be factual, some of it will be background information, and some will be our own personal points of view. But we hope all of it will be interesting, and ultimately useful, to you.

Let me start with an issue that’s come up ever since I started here in 1992 – and probably even earlier: sidewalks. We’ve got bits and pieces of sidewalk all over the town, but they don’t weave together into a network at this point. So are sidewalks in Cranberry a stupid waste of money, as some people have said? I don’t think so.

In every study we’ve done since I arrived here, making Cranberry a more pedestrian-friendly place has been right up there among our residents’ top concerns. Every trip you would normally make by foot – if there were sidewalks to accommodate you – is a trip that’s now made by car. That contributes to congestion, pollution, and so on.

So we’ve got an ordinance that requires anyone doing development along a public road to build that section of sidewalk. Eventually, every property will get developed or redeveloped. So, in time, those sidewalk segments will knit together. But it’s going to take a while.

The alternative is to use taxpayer money to build sidewalks. But that can get really expensive, and nobody has much of an appetite for spending that kind of money. So for now, we’re watching the system slowly emerge, driven by development, and keeping an eye out for innovative ways of picking up the pace.