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Why is There a Traffic Counter on Monument Street?

The traffic counter on Monument Street is collecting data to best determine when speeding is the worst on the street.

 

A Wenham Police Department traffic counter has been set up on Monument Street to help identify the best time to conduct traffic enforcement on the street.

Monument Street is a well traveled road that connects Cherry Street to Route 1A and, of course, is home to the Wenham Tea House.

“It gives us quite a bit of info - number of vehicles, speed of vehicles, etc.” said Interim Police Chief Thomas Perkins.

He said Monument Street homeowners “were among the first residents complaining about speeding vehicles since I took over.”

Perkins said police can not be on any street in Wenham around-the clock, “but this device can.”

The counter has been used many times over the years and is owned by the town. It helped, for example, compile traffic data before the traffic lights were installed in West Wenham at the intersection of Topsfield Road and Cherry and Maple streets.

“It gives us great intelligence, like when the peak times are that vehicles are speeding and allows us to manage our resources more efficiently,” Perkins said.

The counter is actually nearing the end of its useful life and Perkins said he is on the lookout for a grant that would help buy a new one.

About this column: You Ask … Patch Answers is a weekly column for readers looking for solutions to community problems, issues or curiosities -- from public nuisances and eye-sores to gripes and local mysteries. If you have a question, query or gripe about something in Hamilton or Wenham, send it to Bobby Gates at robertg@patch.com. Related Topics: Interim Wenham Police Chief Tom Perkins, Monument Street, Speeding, Wenham Tea House, traffic counter, wenham police, and wenham police department

Michelle Bailey

10:53 am on Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Thanks, I was wondering about that...Warning, speeding on Monument St is a bad idea!

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