Traffic enforcement Murphy/Parker/E Plano area (Wylie, West: sales, homes)

[calmdude]

Disclaimer: I did not get a ticket - this is not a rant.

If you go from Plano to Murphy on Park, soon after Central Hwy, the speed slows down from 40 to 30. This can easily be a 35 zone, but it is not. Maybe, it is the fact that the third lane on both sides is used for parking. You will almost always see cops here - often giving tickets.
Going East, along Bob Woodruf park, there are no homes and limit can easily be 40 - but no, it is 30. ALso, there are always sneaky cops hanging around wiht the radar guns.

Then Park Ave becomes Betsy and you cross the great city of Parker via just 1 stop sign. Be careful - cops again hang around and am told by my new neighbors in Murphy that many people have gotten tickets simply because they did not stop completely for 2 seconds at that sign (the "law" thing). Realistically, this intersection may not even need a stop sign since almost all traffic is East-West (hardly any N-S). But, then you would have to ticket Parker residents who are N-S users and not the people driving through the great city of Parker. Am told Parker wants revenue as it does not have any commercial establishments.

Then, in Murphy, after the stop sign, there are more cops!!

What is the problem in the above 4-5 mile stretch? Why is it so strictly targeted? One can get pig-headed applying any law, but the intensity of enforcement coupled with the very low speeds is simply baffling and (to me) overdone. Wanted to see how the locals felt....

[momof2dfw]

URGH!!!! Been up and down those roads MANY times in the last 2 weeks. URGH!!! That 30mph thru Murphy is INSANE!!! While going down Betsy thru Murhpy on a HUGE nice, new & wide w/ a center median street at 30 is really uncalled for. Then on Heritage Pkwy where it is residential the speed limit is I believe 40MPH!?!?!?!?! Hmm, Betsy - nice wide street that is not "residential" is 30 yet Heritage that has MANY residential streets crossing it is 40????

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by calmdude

Disclaimer: I did not get a ticket - this is not a rant.

If you go from Plano to Murphy on Park, soon after Central Hwy, the speed slows down from 40 to 30. This can easily be a 35 zone, but it is not. Maybe, it is the fact that the third lane on both sides is used for parking. You will almost always see cops here - often giving tickets.
Going East, along Bob Woodruf park, there are no homes and limit can easily be 40 - but no, it is 30. ALso, there are always sneaky cops hanging around wiht the radar guns.

Then Park Ave becomes Betsy and you cross the great city of Parker via just 1 stop sign. Be careful - cops again hang around and am told by my new neighbors in Murphy that many people have gotten tickets simply because they did not stop completely for 2 seconds at that sign (the "law" thing). Realistically, this intersection may not even need a stop sign since almost all traffic is East-West (hardly any N-S). But, then you would have to ticket Parker residents who are N-S users and not the people driving through the great city of Parker. Am told Parker wants revenue as it does not have any commercial establishments.

Then, in Murphy, after the stop sign, there are more cops!!

What is the problem in the above 4-5 mile stretch? Why is it so strictly targeted? One can get pig-headed applying any law, but the intensity of enforcement coupled with the very low speeds is simply baffling and (to me) overdone. Wanted to see how the locals felt....

Ya the speed limits there make NO sense at all!

[mutigers]

I have been driving the Park/Betsy lane route daily in am and over lunch to take my daughter to and from band and haven't seen any police yet. But I have been paranoid about getting a ticket but it seems like everyone else is going 10mph over the speed limit so I do to. But I guess enforcement may be more strict once school starts?

[MurphyPl1]

OK, I know all about the craziness of the speedzones along there as I live just off of Betsy. And Betsy was just extended and messed up that speedzone for the part east of Murphy Rd.

6 lane Park in Plano is 30 and in Murphy (Betsy) with 4 lanes is 35. What's crazier is that Murphy Rd (2 lane asphalt with a school) is 45.

Apparently in Plano the speed limit has to do with the residential homes that face the street, which are not a problem in Parker and Murphy. Betsy speed (not sure about Park) was determined by the County since they shelled out the bucks to expand it. Murphy Rd is under TXDot control which adds another layer of BS.

As far as the cops, I've been pulled over and given a warning in Plano, given a ticket in Parker and been fortunate in Murphy.

Don't know about Plano cops, but Parker and Murphy don't have a lot of road to cover. Murphy has 81 miles of road total including 4 major roads (544, Betsy, Heritage and McCreary). There's just not a lot of places to patrol. And they've just gone to 12 hour shifts and put more officers on the street. So they are able to patrol the neighborhoods AND do traffic control.

But if you are going to speed and get a ticket, please do so in Murphy. Our housing starts are down and sales tax from the new Marketplace hasn't kicked in yet, so we could use the revenue.

[calmdude]

I have been told Parker and Wylie cops show no mercy - their towns are really after your money, plain and simple.

[tycobb2522]

Ya, as someone said, the 30 on Park in Plano is because of the homes facing it. They could increase it for the short stretch along Woodruff Park, but then would have to drop it back down as you entered Los Rios, which could be even more confusing. It's been this way since the late 1970's, at least.

Simple solution: drive the speed limit.

[calmdude]

Originally Posted by tycobb2522

Y

Simple solution: drive the speed limit.

.. well DUH ! That was not the point of the post. Simpler solution would be to make the whole metroplex 30 mph - would be safe and avoid confusion.

[tycobb2522]

Originally Posted by calmdude

.. well DUH ! That was not the point of the post. Simpler solution would be to make the whole metroplex 30 mph - would be safe and avoid confusion.

Yes, that was the point. You specifically asked how the locals felt. I answered. Not only that, I explained to you why it is the way it is.

[billdfw]

A lot of towns do do the same thing. It is really about money, a revenue stream, under the guise of public safety.