We have seen the enemy, and it is us

0
258

Point Dume residents complaining of speeding drivers racing through their streets may have themselves, in large part, to blame. Sheriff’s Lt. Thom Bradstock told the City Council Monday that most of the traffic offenders to whom his deputies have issued tickets in the past 30 days live on the Point. Most of the others are employed by residents who live there.

For the past month, sheriff’s deputies, at additional city expense, have been patrolling the streets of Point Dume, during the morning and afternoon hours, to curb speeding and issue tickets for moving violations, especially near the elementary school.

Bradstock said over the period 42 tickets were issued, 39 of which were for speeding. Sixty percent of the speeders apprehended turned out to be Malibu residents, most of whom live on Point Dume. The other traffic offenders were heading to or from maintenance or construction jobs at Point Dume homes. Bradstock said the speeders were traveling between 40 and 51 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone.

The council members asked Bradstock whether the additional sheriff’s presence was working. “There is a marked decrease in speed,” he said. “So it’s having an effect.”

The additional sheriff’s patrol will continue. Councilman Harry Barovsky asked Bradstock to provide in his next report the street names on which the traffic offenders live. By law, the police cannot provide the names of traffic offenders.