EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was written in response to a reader-submitted question through Open Source, a platform where readers can ask Ashland Source’s newsroom to investigate a question.
ASHLAND — A resident who lives on Hillcrest Drive reached out to Ashland Source recently with a complaint aimed at the Ashland Police Department.
“Why can’t the city radar the streets anymore? I live on Hillcrest and no one does the speed limit or stop at stop signs, even the police. They don’t care.”
The complainant, who wished to remain anonymous, did not respond to a request for comment.
Police Chief Dave Lay said the patrolmen and women have used dash-mounted radars in cruisers for years. Each one of the department’s 17 patrol cruisers are outfitted with MPH Industries’ police radars as soon as they are purchased, Lay said.
The speed limits on Hillcrest Drive were established in 1989, Lay said. The road is broken into two speed zones.
The 25 mph zone is between Center Street and Eastern Avenue. The rest of it, until Davis Road, is 35 mph. This is because the road is designated as a through street. It connects U.S. 42/250 Bypass and State Route 60, or Center Street.
The majority of the road is outside of a business district, Lay said.
“Maximum speed limits are set by City Ordinance 333.03, and the 35 mph limit appears reasonable there,” he said.
There have been 17 citations issued for traffic violations along Hillcrest Drive since Jan. 2017, according to police records. Officers have issued 32 warnings during the same time period.
Police radars do not require officers to sit stationary — they work while driving, too. They work by transmitting radio waves at a fixed frequency and use tuning forks set to different speeds to help calculate speed of traffic.
“You could sit on a street for an hour (scanning for speed) and not see one car. And on Claremont you see 15. So do you go sit or patrol?” said officer Adam Wolbert during a 12-hour night shift in mid-January (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.).
Wolbert also parked along Hillcrest Drive during that shift, pointing his radar east. Before leaving for another call after 15 minutes, Wolbert observed a van driving 32 mph and a small car driving 35 mph.
During that particular shift that started Jan. 14, Wolbert made six traffic stops, according to police records. They were all made while patrolling.
There were 529 citations issued for traffic violations and 300 warnings given along Claremont Avenue since January 2017, police records show.
Wolbert said the police station receives requests for additional patrolling because of speeding or other concerns — much like the one that prompted this story — every so often. Sandusky Street, for instance. The police department, however, does not have a method for retrieving that data.
“Those requests are received and posted as a shift briefing entry in our records management system so the officers can review them daily. They can then direct their proactive patrol activities toward those areas when they have time,” Lay said.
Using dash-mounted radar is part of an officer’s duties while patrolling — but it’s only one, the police chief said.
“Business and residential building checks, community engagements, meetings, special events and neighborhood patrols are also part of their routines,” Lay said. “In addition, the patrol bureau conducts the majority of follow up on misdemeanor crimes, as well as many felony-level crimes that would not need the specialized attention from an investigator.”
The Ashland Police Department does not give its officers quotas to meet on a monthly or annual basis.
“There is a lot of negative public perception associated with quotas for police agencies. Arguments arise that it’s done simply as a means of collecting revenue for the municipality,” Lay said.
Instead, Lay emphasizes a more responsive and proactive approach to policing.
“Officers are encouraged to be responsive to citizen requests for any traffic or crime-related issue. These proactive patrol efforts can best be described as quality-of-life services,” the chief said. “People want to feel safe where they live and work. We have a duty to provide those services and our response efforts may be nothing more than being a visible presence in a particular area of the city.”
Mayor Matt Miller said he used to live on Hillcrest Drive.
“There’s no doubt, there’s a lot of traffic on that road — just about all day long,” Miller said.
The mayor said there have been one or two complaints about speeding on Hillcrest over the years, but the concern that stands out to him is actually a suggestion offered by residents near Hillcrest and Davis roads.
He said a couple of neighbors suggested the installation of a stoplight at the end of Davis Road. Hillcrest Road comes to a “T” at Davis Road, before Davis feeds into U.S. 42.
“Depending on the time of day, that intersection can be a challenge,” Miller said.
The mayor did not indicate whether the city has considered adding a stop light there as an option.
When asked to respond to the reader’s prompt that criticized police for not stopping at stop signs or caring, Lay said this:
“The men and women of the Ashland Police Division are committed to ensuring the safety of our community. People are passionate about the concerns that they have in their neighborhoods, and we appreciate that. When statements like this are made, it’s important that the available information be carefully reviewed.
“We would simply ask that you look at the facts before you draw any conclusions. We will continue to provide the best possible service, by enforcing the traffic laws all across the city, with the limited number of personnel that we currently have on staff.”
