Westwood Police: 'Perception' of Speeding Worse Than Reality

The worst speeders in the Sand Road area of Westwood are the neighborhood's own residents, according to Westwood Police Capt. Frank Durante.

Westwood Police conducted a speed survey on Sand Road during February and March following complaints from neighborhood residents that drivers were racing down the road to cut between Old Hook Road and Harrington Avenue.

Police spent three weeks tracking the speeds of cars for a few hours each day on Sand Road, gravitating toward the morning and evening rush hours. The average speed police clocked was 23.59 miles per hour, Mayor John Birkner said. The survey included a total of 546 vehicles, Durante said.

Police stopped speeders during the survey and found that most of them lived in the neighborhood, including one driver who was allegedly caught traveling at 40 miles per hour. The road's speed limit is 25.

Birkner said that the residents who brought the issue up probably perceived the speed of cars to be faster than they actually are because Sand Road is unusually narrow. There are also no sidewalks along the street.

Officials recommended continuing police enforcement on Sand Road, as well as adding more signs and lowering the road in front of three speed bumps. Durante said that adding more paint to the bumps to increase their visibility could also help slow drivers down.

Residents at Tuesday's council meeting also suggested adding more stop signs at some of the intersections along Sand Road which short or incomplete streets where signs don't currently exist.

Lowering the speed limit itself would probably not be possible, officials said. Borough engineer Stephen Boswell said that changing the speed limit requires providing a study to the Department fo Transportation, which often finds that speed limits can actually be raised.

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