I-271 to become mammoth speed trap? (Willoughby, Solon: property tax rates, live, zoning)

[WRnative]

With Mayfield Village adopting officer-operated speed cameras, with mailed tickets and $150-300 fines, other communities along I-271 soon will follow. Obviously, officers could ticket at a prodigious rate. I-271 has a ridiculous 60 mph speed limit, even on its express lanes, making it very easy to speed, especially after exiting I-90 with its 70 mph speed limit.

<<Officers will operate the cameras near the Wilson Mills Road interchange. Instead of chasing drivers down, police will identify the speeders by using the cameras and send them a ticket once the program is in full effect....

Eventually, violators of the “officer-operated traffic photo enforcement program” could face a ticket and fine of up to $300.>>

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...?ocid=msedgntp

Willoughby Hills often has multiple officers checking for speeding cars on I-271 and I-90. Surely Willoughby Hills will rapidly follow Mayfield Village's lead.

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...-for-motorists

[ohioaninsc]

Anything to get more money...the results of the state cutting funding several yrs ago to local communities...
Of course I do think speeding is a problem on 271 though the express lanes should be a little more open to it.

[SlideRules99]

422 through Solon, Bainbridge, and into Auburn Township (up to LaDue Reservoir) has become quite the speed trap as well. There is a stretch where it falls from 65mph, to 60, to 55, and finally to 45 mph, and you can usually bet on some level of policing there.

A couple weeks ago there were cops stationed on the West side of the reservoir with what I thought were hand held radar guns…standing and pointing them at east bound passing cars. I’m wondering now if those were cameras. There was no attempt to chase down speeders, but rather an obvious and exaggerated “gotcha” type hand gesture from the police.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by SlideRules99

422 through Solon, Bainbridge, and into Auburn Township (up to LaDue Reservoir) has become quite the speed trap as well. There is a stretch where it falls from 65mph, to 60, to 55, and finally to 45 mph, and you can usually bet on some level of policing there.

A couple weeks ago there were cops stationed on the West side of the reservoir with what I thought were hand held radar guns…standing and pointing them at east bound passing cars. I’m wondering now if those were cameras. There was no attempt to chase down speeders, but rather an obvious and exaggerated “gotcha” type hand gesture from the police.

GPS systems often report speed limits. I wonder if any cars have integrated speed limit information into their cruise control systems to automatically slow a care before entering a lower speed zone.

When driving Ohio rural roads, too frequently a 25 mph zone will appear with little warning as a driver passes through a village. I wonder if village cops now are sitting there with cameras.

What's sad is that a big chunk of the fines go to the out-of-state companies peddling the technology and processing the license plates.

[cubsguy81]

It's a scam, but they are easily identified by radar detectors, waze, being observant. If they want people to slow down, erecting huge "speed trap" signs before you enter Mayfield Heights on 271 should serve the purpose better than being covert.

Even better, remove the ability of local law enforcement to enforce traffic laws on interstates and leave it to state police as is the case in many states.

[TheProf]

To answer WRnative's title of this thread: emphatically YES.

... and I hate it. Mayfield Village has set itself up to be the modern-day, East Side version of Linndale, the tiny, quarter-mile long speed-trap village along I-71 where hungry, radar-d cops lurked to feed the small Linndale budget with citation fees handed out to East Siders going to/coming from the Airport. We practically live on I-271 for our burb-to-burb retail, restaurant, and social hopping. ODOT spent gazillions (and took decades) to build the express lanes down the middle (which sadly took away the wide-open grassy median that gave the roadway a rural attractiveness ...to me, at least. Bottom-line: the road was built and expanded for speed. I honestly believe the speed limits are too low for 271 -- it is mainly a flat, generally straight road ... and where it curves, the curves are gentle, not harsh. Thus the speed limit throughout 271 should be 70 mph, with the possible exception of the areas around major interchanges such as the 480 interchanges and the one at I-90.

The camera cop arrangement just seems like a cheap hustle for Mayfield. one which I'm sure some of the other 271 burbs will follow.

[on3]

I'd rather live somewhere between Wicklife and Madison and just use route 2 than to have to deal with I-271 crap. Not that it isn't policed, but it's certainly not as bad.

[Nomad99]

Great post! I'd rachet it a few notches though and ask... why does Ohio have so absurdly many small towns/villages etc.? Wouldn't consolidating them make infinite economic sense (not to mention public safety esp. fire-resuce or effective/efficient building code & zoning compliance)? Given Ohio's higher than average property tax rates, poor infrastructure and corruption... just sayin'...

Along those lines, why the heck in 2022 does Ohio still have anachronistic have "Mayor's courts"? I grew up in NE OH and I never heard of a Mayor's court that was thought to be fair and just...