Police Stop 42 Speed Violators Along Commuter Route  

By Andrew Gorosko

During a joint traffic enforcement project conducted during the past two weeks in southwestern Newtown and southeastern Redding, municipal police from the two towns stopped 42 motorists for various speeding violations.

Newtown police Sergeant Aaron Bahamonde said that police from the towns conducted the enforcement crackdown from 6 to 9 am on four days during that period.

The planned enforcement zone included Poverty Hollow Road and Hopewell Road in Newtown, as well as Hopewell Woods Road and Newtown Turnpike in Redding. Those roads are heavily used by commuters during rush periods. Most commuters travel southward in the morning, and then return northward in the afternoon.

The speeding crackdown came in response to residents’ complaints that motorists drive too fast on those streets.

 Sgt Bahamonde said that the combined enforcement project resulted in police from the two towns issuing 25 written warnings and 16 infraction tickets for speed violations, plus one misdemeanor summons.

Police issued the misdemeanor summons to a motorcyclist who was found to be driving 78 miles per hour in a 30-mph zone, passing in a no-passing zone, driving an unregistered vehicle, and driving a motorcycle without a motorcyclist’s license. Such violations require a court appearance.

Police officers from each of the two towns worked in both towns during the enforcement project. Newtown and Redding police have a formal mutual aid agreement which allows the police from each town to enforce the law in both towns. Such an arrangement allowed for enforcement flexibility in the traffic project.

Newtown police look forward to continued cooperation with police from neighboring towns in enforcing travel speed laws along commuter routes, Sgt Bahamonde said.