The Mertzon City Council at its November 6 2023 meeting is considering a radar sign in Mertzon to help with speeding vehicles. Update: Read what happened at this meeting regarding the purchase of the radar sign here. Here is the agenda for the meeting, with my comments underneath:
Comments:
Here is some full sunlight on a significant City issue - the City of Mertzon does not have an ordinance enforcement system. Former Mayor Bill Taylor once astutely observed that the City's ordinances are nothing more than a book of promises the City hopes citizens will follow. Why? Because the City can't enforce them without a ticketing system and a municipal judge. Why doesn't the City have those things? Well, there is a cost issue. But, I think more than that there has long been an anti regulatory mentality in the city, plus the Council members have not wanted the pressures that come with upsetting their own neighbors when asking them to comply with an ordinance.
I raised the question in an earlier post about whether the City is meeting its obligations to create opportunity and community. From my perspective of being flooded by stormwater runoff with every measurable rain, I contend that the City cannot create opportunity and community if it gives Irion County ISD the right to take over its streets and alleys, flood them, flood City Park and then flood the District's football field (which is leased to the District by the City). It's crazy for government to flood its people, it's nonsense for government to flood itself, and it's incomprehensible for government to join forces with another governmental body and for each to flood the other. That's what the City and the District are doing by the City having no ordinances on flooding - it's a mutual pact to flood one another.
But, the problem at hand in this meeting is speeding. There are ordinances for speeding in Mertzon. It's a big problem, especially around the school campus. And, often the biggest violators are NOT students. I'm always watchful for speeding school busses and ATVs driven by school employees. These drivers certainly know better, but there are no consequences for speeding, even in a school zone. I've also had to be more careful around town on my bike.
A radar sign in Mertzon is a good idea. It will raise awareness and prompt self correction of speed. In an enforcement environment where all the City has is a hope that citizens will keep a promise, then the City should do what it can to increase citizen awareness about when they are violating their promise...and then hope for the best. It is no doubt unusual for a municipality to so heavily rely on hope with something as critical as speed limits, but when there's no enforcement that hope is all any of us have for safety in our streets.
Of course, opponents might cynically say a radar sign will symply reinforce that drivers can be lawless in Mertzon. Without consequences for speeding, what difference would it make if a radar sign shows one is driving the speed limit in a school zone or 105 mph in a school zone? There are a number of reasons for not embracing this cynical view, including that it is ethically wrong to speed because of the dangers to other drivers. (Similarly, it is ethically wrong to flood your neighbors even though no ordinances prohibit it.) Thus, our City Council can still prioritize creating community simply by applying ethics (a radar sign promotes the safe speed), even if they are resistant to an enforcement system or robust ordinances that better protect the safety of our citizens.
UPDATE: The City Council approved the approximate $3,000 purchase of a radar sign at its November 6, 2023 council meeting. I read the the highlighted language in # 4 above during open forum. During discussion Mayor Stewart pointed out that the City would be providing data from the sign to the IC Sheriff and to DPS, both of whom expressed an interest to him to use it for enforcement. Therefore, while the City does not have an enforcement mechanism like I discussed above in #1, the information collected from it may be used by county and state law enforcement. No one else from the public attended the meeting. I also notified Supt. Moore and Pres. Carlile about the Council's vote and expressed my hope that this would tamp down the speeding around the ICISD campus.
Copyright 2023 G Noelke