Speed enforcement a challenge in Sisters
By Jim Cornelius

The sheriff's office set up a speed monitoring car on a stretch of Locust Street/Camp Polk Road, where there have been frequent complaints about speeding over the past several months.

Speeds are supposed to be low in Sisters --Ê20 or 25 miles per hour inside the city. Drivers often don't pay attention to those limits.

"People know, but they're either lazy or distracted," said Sergeant Rich Shawver of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office.

Shaver said many drivers that are stopped for speeding violations didn't see the speed signs, didn't take into account where they were driving -- and didn't see the patrol car till it pulled out behind them.

Deputies park frequently in particular problem areas, such as the elementary school; on Locust Street where it becomes Camp Polk Road heading out into the county; and at the west end of town where Highways 20 and 242 merge.

When patrol cars are there, speeders tend to slow down.

"There's a deterrent effect when patrol cars are parked in any particular area," Shawver said.

However, Shawver acknowledged, when patrol cars are not in evidence, drivers tend to speed up, leading to frequent citizen complaints.

It might be possible to shut down speeding in problem areas if enforcement is constant and unrelenting, Shawver acknowledged. There is probably a threshold at which local drivers start instinctively slowing down because they know there is a patrol car lurking.

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But that's not a viable solution given current staffing levels and the need to patrol and conduct other police duties, according to Shawver.

"I don't have the resources to park a patrol car (in any one spot) every day," he said.

The sheriff's office parked a speed monitoring car on Locust Street Camp Polk Road on Friday, March 2.

The office's top speed enforcement priority is at the elementary school, where children are crossing the highway. However, other troublesome areas have received "literally hundreds of hours" of patrol, according to deputies.

The sheriff's office issued 109 citations inside the city limits in January and February; deputies cited 58 drivers in the county. A total of 124 warnings were issued.

During the peak tourist season of July and August, 2000, the sheriff's office issued 80 citations inside the city limits and 127 in county lands. There were 114 warnings issued during that time.

Not all the citations were for speeding; other violations were included in the statistics.

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Ultimately, Shawver concluded, law enforcement can only do so much to curb speeders.

"I don't think we should forget the real culprit in this deal: the drivers. We all know the rules," he said. "Take some responsibility."

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