About a year ago, at the request of several residents, we began looking into a comprehensive town-wide speed study. The town owned a radar trailer (similar to the one in the photo above), but the data-capturing software was out of date and was malfunctioning. With help from the manufacturer and Officer Gunther of the Centreville Police Department, Chief Rhodes and the Town Council embarked on a speed capturing study across town. This is not a perfect scientific study, but the data does give a good broad analysis of speeds throughout town. We continue to deploy the trailer in areas not yet studied and we will re-deploy the unit throughout town.
The Radar Trailer:
The Radar Trailer is a mobile radar unit that works independent of a patrol vehicle and without the need for manual operation by a police officer. The radar captures the speed of passing vehicles and displays the vehicles speed on the large LED panel. If the vehicles speed is in excess of the posted speed, the displayed screen will flash. Each passing automobile's speed is recorded by date, time and speed and the data is then analyzed.
Locations Studied: Click HERE for map of Centreville with proposed trailer deployment locations.
Through input from citizens, the radar trailer was deployed in most of the locations attached (indicated by an asterisk *)
Not all locations have been studied yet, but we will continue to deploy and monitor.
Centreville Speed Limits:
The Town Council of Centreville, passed an ordinance last year, mandating that all town controlled roads be 25 MPH, unless otherwise noted. Being that most of Centreville is residential, we feel that this makes sense. The roads that the town doesn't control (State Highways) vary in speed from 25 MPH, 30 MPH, 35 MPH, and 50 MPH. We have been working with the Maryland State Highway Administration to achieve a 25 MPH standard on Rt. 213 from the Millstream Bridge to the Gravel Run bridge.
The 85th Percentile:
The 85th percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85 percent of the motorists drive on a given road when unaffected by slower traffic or poor weather. This speed indicates the speed that most motorists on that road consider safe and reasonable under ideal conditions. It is a good guideline for the appropriate speed limit for that road. (From Maryland State Highway Administration)
The Data and Results:
Attached are the results based on the trailer in the specified locations. There are 2 graphs for each, one is the Percentage of Vehicles traveling at a certain speed range and the other is the 85th percentile speed graph. Both graphs help with enforcement and the 85th percentile graph offers the police information on areas of town where added enforcement are necessary. (Please note: Not all areas are represented by equal amounts of time. The radar trailer is set up and moved by the police department when they are available and between other assignments and according to weather and other factors)
Liberty Street @ Church Lane 4/16/2010-4/20/2010
85th Percentile Liberty Street @ Church Lane
Liberty Street @ Ridgeview 4/24/2010 to 4/28/2010
Liberty Street @ Ridgeview 4/29/2010 to 5/3/2010
85th Percentile Liberty Street @ Ridgeview
Liberty Street @ Millstream 5/8/2010 to 5/12/2010
Southbound 213 @ G&G Distributors 5/14/2010 to 5/17/2010
85th Percentile Southbound 213 @ G&G Distributors
Northbound 213 @ Coursevall 5/19/2010 to 5/22/2010
85th Percentile Northbound 213 @ Coursevall 5/19-5/22
Northbound 213 @ Coursevall 5/27/2010 to 5/31/2010
85th Percentile Northbound 213 @ Coursevall 5/27-5/31
Commerce St @ Ridgeview 6/1/2010 to 6/5/2010
Commerce St. @ Kidwell 6/11/2010 to 6/14/2010
85th Percentile Commerce St @ Kidwell & Ridgeview 6/1/2010 to 6/14/2010
Commerce St @ Academy 6/19/2010 to 6/22/2010
85th Percentile Commerce St @ Academy 6/19-6/22
Commerce St @ Academy 7/3/2010 to 7/6/2010
85th Percentile Commerce St @ Academy 7/3-7/6
213 Northbound @ Hope Rd 7/9/2010 to 7/14/2010
85th Percentile 213 Northbound @ Hope Rd
Wexford Eastbound Near Northbrook Entrance 7/27/2010 to 8/5/2010
85th Percentile Wexford Eastbound Near Northbrook Entrance
Wexford Westbound @ Brook Run 8/20/2010 to 8/30/2010
85th Percentile Wexford Westbound @ Brook Run 8/20-8/30
Wexford Westbound @ Brook Run 8/31/2010 to 9/8/2010
85th Percentile Wexford Westbound @ Brook Run 8/31-9/8
Wexford Westbound @ Brook Run 9/9/2010 to 9/22/2010
85th Percentile Wexford Westbound @ Brook Run 9/9-9/22
213 Southbound @ Oak St 9/24/2010 to 9/30/2010
85th Percentile 213 Southbound @ Oak St 9/24-9/30
213 Southbound @ Oak St 10/1/2010 to 10/7/2010
85th Percentile 213 Southbound @ Oak St 10/1-10/7
Green St Northbound @ Kidwell 10/8/2010 to 10/11/2010
Green St Northbound @ Kidwell 10/12/2010 to 10/12/2010
85th Percentile Green St Northbound @ Kidwell
Green St Southbound @ Little Kidwell 10/19/2010 to 10/25/2010
85th Percentile Green St Southbound @ Little Kidwell
Little Kidwell Eastbound @ Providence Ct 11/5/2010 to 11/9/2010
85th Percentile Little Kidwell Eastbound @ Providence Ct
Hope Rd Eastbound @ Pine 11/20/2010 to 11/29/2010
85th Percentile Hope Rd Eastbound @ Pine
Hope Rd Westbound @ Pine 11/30/2010 to 12/8/2010
85th Percentile Hope Rd Westbound @ Pine
Symphony Way Westbound @ Harmony 2/8/2011 to 2/14/2011
85th Percentile Symphony Way Westbound @ Harmony
Symphony Way Eastbound @ Orchestra 2/24/2011 to 3/4/2011
85th Percentile Symphony Way Eastbound @ Orchestra
Railroad Ave Eastbound @ Acme 3/11/2010 to 3/17/2011
85th Percentile Railroad Ave Eastbound @ Acme 3/11-3/17
Railroad Ave Eastbound @ Acme 3/22/2011 to 3/28/2011
85th Percentile Railroad Ave Eastbound @ Acme 3/22-3/28
More to come as we continue to monitor speeds.
Thank you for posting this information - my concern is with the numbers for the South Liberty/Church Lane location - I would think that the number of vehicles turning from Fayette onto S. Liberty who are not up to speed would somewhat skew these results, as would other locations near turns.
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