Letters to the Editors

Speed traps aim for money, not public safety

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 3, 2000

Re: The, er, lady doth protest too much, July 29.

I can think of only two reasons for the St. Petersburg police to set up a speed trap: to promote public safety or to collect revenues.

If the purpose is to promote public safety, then the man dressed as Carmen Miranda with a sign saying "slow down" is merely assisting the police in their duties.

Conversely, since, as you reported, the police confiscated his sign and told him he might be arrested for obstructing their efforts, then it seems that their only purpose in setting the speed trap is to collect revenues.

Is there not another way for the city to generate needed funds?
-- Tom Ziebold, St. Petersburg

Advocating law-abiding behavior

Re: The, er, lady doth protest too much.

I read your coverage of Carl Harris' Friday adventure, when, dressed like Carmen Miranda and standing by the road with his "slow down" sign, he was threatened by St. Petersburg Police Officer Matt McKinney with arrest for obstruction, because officers were conducting "an operation to target speeders." The costume aside, Harris was simply admonishing motorists to drive carefully, i.e. to obey the law.

The fact that police endeavor to arrest lawbreakers is good, but a citizen advocating law-abiding behavior is not a criminal act of obstruction. If Harris is doing a bad thing by asking people not to drive too fast, which might keep them from being guilty of the civil infraction of speeding, then it must be worse to tell people not to drink and drive, which might keep them from being guilty of DUI.

Leave Carl Harris alone. He didn't do anything wrong. Geez, you'd think he had his fruit headdress on sideways or something.
-- Andrew Scherman, St. Petersburg

A visible police presence is the answer

Carl Harris is a hero for saving his community from police unfairness. The concept of a speed trap is totally ridiculous. When police jump out of the bushes and randomly scare a driver here and there, they have not fixed any problems. Having the police hide and sneak up on those who break the law is not the answer. Police presence is the answer.

Police officers are some of the most dedicated public servants, but the practice of speed traps is not respectable. All citizens and the police want is public safety. Putting empty squad cars around town, having a police presence on medians and patrolling visibly on the roads will serve as much greater deterrents to speeding than speeding tickets. Tickets don't slow us down nor do they protect us. Visible police presence will truly protect and serve us in a great way.
-- Dan Krassner, Largo

Reject red-light cameras

Re: Catch them on camera, editorial, July 24.

Once again you call for one of the most one-sided police-state-type ideas ever created: red-light cameras. Not only should these things not be considered, they should be outlawed in the future. Tickets-by-mail is not law enforcement, it is revenue collecting!

The biggest problem with this whole concept is that a machine cannot tell the difference between someone who runs a light on purpose or someone who does so by accident. So if you run a light because you can't stop due to weather problems, distractions from other cars or pedestrians, emergencies or the signal being blocked by high-profile vehicles (trucks), you are considered just as guilty as the person who did so for no reason.

Of course, we assume that the light won't malfunction. Lights malfunction all the time, from going out to shorting the signal time. The cameras will malfunction, too. They are machines. Is it really wise to let a picture be the final word as to guilt or innocent without even a traffic stop by an officer?

Please tell your legislators as I have: Say no to tickets by mail and no to red-light cameras!
-- Stephen Donaldson, Dade City

Camera systems can save lives

Re: Catch them on camera.

Your editorial regarding the use of red-light cameras should be on the desk of every Florida legislator. Information from those states with enabling laws and the communities that have implemented the red-light cameras is readily available with evidence of the dramatic success of these programs. The vendors of these systems can provide a list of those municipalities with installed systems.

The costs involved can be handled with several options. Outsourcing appears to have the most appeal. The selected vendor provides installation, and maintenance as well as mailing the violation notices, collecting the fines and preparing effectiveness reports for the public. In California, for instance, the fine is $271, of which the vendor retains $70 to recover its costs. This option has minimal expense to the taxpayers because the vendor assumes most or all implementation expenses.

Detractors will offer the privacy defense. Our streets are public places, not private, and people do not seem to object when their ATM, convenience store or department store takes their photos. Nationwide, according to figures released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 800 deaths and 120,000 injuries occur at intersections annually. Communities with the red-light camera system have experienced 40 to 60 percent decreases in violations, and the drivers now step on the brake, not the accelerator when the light is yellow.
-- Donald F. O'Neill, Clearwater

Getting it straight on toll roads

Re: Flawed figures leave toll roads flat, July 16.

As the director of Florida's Turnpike System, I wanted to respond to your readers who may have the mistaken impression that the cited toll roads are not needed.

Much of your article focused on the feasibility test for Turnpike projects. While the Turnpike's first two expansion projects, which opened in 1994, have not yet generated forecast revenues, the two primary reasons are delayed land development and postponement of a scheduled toll rate increase on both projects. If the forecasts had not included the toll rate increase, actual revenues would be 92 percent of the forecast for the Seminole Expressway and 67 percent of the forecast for the Veterans Expressway. While the projects you cited have not generated the revenue forecast for their early years, these same projects are on track to generate surplus revenues by the 15th year or earlier, as required by statute.

The article did not include several other projects forecast by the consultant. The Southern Connector Extension generates 100 percent of the revenue forecast, Mid-Bay Bridge 127 percent and Mid-Point and Cape Coral Bridge 96 percent. Overall, the consultant has accurately forecast total Turnpike System revenues. Over the last five years, actual revenues were 102 percent of the forecasts. The bond rating agencies consider the accuracy of these forecasts when assigning a bond rating. In the last 10 years the Turnpike's bond rating has been upgraded several times. Today, Florida's Turnpike is one of the top five rated toll roads in the country.

The article also suggests that some of our expansion projects would not have been constructed if the revenue forecasts had more accurately estimated early project revenues. This is not necessarily true. Florida law allows use of other, non-Turnpike contributions of funds to enable planned Turnpike expansion projects to pass the economic feasibility test. These contributions can be federal, state, local or private funds. Several Turnpike projects that have been opened or are being built have contributions of non-Turnpike funds.

I also want to address one of our projects in your area -- the Suncoast Parkway I. The article stated that the project was forecast to generate $70-million in revenue in fiscal year 2002, and the revised forecast is $14.5-million. This is not correct. The forecast used for bond sale was $15.1-million. The forecast was revised recently from $15.1-million to $14.5-million, due to a legislative requirement enacted subsequent to the forecast that ensures commuters using electronic toll collection will receive a 10 percent toll discount. With the opening of Suncoast Parkway I in January, we continue to believe it is a good transportation project and environmentally sound. The linkage of the Veterans Expressway, Suncoast Parkway I and Suncoast Parkway II will represent an 80-mile transportation corridor of both local and regional importance.

The Department of Transportation is an advocate for responsible transportation, not toll roads. However, toll roads are necessary to help fill the funding gap of a growing demand for transportation. Generally speaking, our program does not receive federal or state gas taxes and therefore must be funded through tolls and revenue bonds. The Florida Legislature in 1990 passed legislation that assures Turnpike projects are good transportation projects before funds are invested. They must be economically feasible, environmentally sound and locally supported. As envisioned by the Legislature, in the early years of a project the entire Turnpike System revenues provide financial support. As the project matures it contributes revenues back to the system to help build future projects.

Our objective has been to continually improve the reliability of future forecasts based on past performance. We have strived to ensure Turnpike projects represent a good transportation investment for both our state and our investors.
-- James L. Ely, secretary, Turnpike District, Florida Department of Transportation

Passing the blame

Re: Father seeks answers after teen's fatal crash.

First of all, my heart goes out to the parents who suffered the loss of their son. Regardless of the circumstances, this is a burden they will carry the rest of their lives.

What really disturbes me -- and this seems to be the American way these days -- is the legal action contemplated the father. How far-fetched can you get? Instead of accepting the fact, and acknowledging parental responsibility, that his son was out of control, the father chose to find society at fault, in this case the Sheriff's Office.

The son was already awaiting trial on a DUI charge. Doesn't that tell you something? He didn't have a valid driver's license on him at the time. As Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice said, they were in a "no-win situation."
-- D. Janssen, St. Pete Beach

Take greater care with reclaimed water

According to the American Water Works Association, there is considerable controversy about the amount of treatment needed for the domestic use of reclaimed water. The AWWA, which is the largest organization of water professionals in the world, says that "for pennies a day" more than we are now spending, reclaimed water treated with the latest technologies (reverse osmosis or activated charcoal beds) can be produced.

Orange County in Southern California is using the latest technologies for reclaimed water projects. Considering what some believe to be the potential for health problems, should we spend those few pennies more to get the same peace of mind?
-- Barbara Witlin, Crystal Beach

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