Bonney Lake Police Evaluate Speeding in Residential Neighborhoods

At the intersection of 70th St. E. and Church Lake Dr. E., residents complain cars are passing through too fast.

A resident brought the concern to Councilmember Dan Decker, who pushed for area surveillance through the Public Safety subcommittee.

“The reason we did a study of that area is because a resident had a child with a hearing disability and wants to put up ‘deaf child’ signs near the intersection […] the resident said people speed through that area,” said Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell. “The city didn’t want to purchase the sign, so we went in to see if there was any cause for concern. Right now, we’re not sure.”

The police department used a speed tracker to determine the rate of speed through the area. It’s a portable device that helps determine if more enforcement is needed in any given area. Police monitor traffic between peak and off- hours to find any patterns.

“We try to back up complaints with data,” said Mitchell.

Bonney Lake PD studied the area from Feb. 28 to March 6, and found that 85 percent of drivers drove less than 24 miles per hour and the average speed was less than 21 miles per hour, so speeding doesn't seem to be an issue.

However, Bonney Lake Police measured speeding during the recent winter snowstorm, so the data is potentially skewed. Mitchell said they will watch the area and test again if they feel the need to, but the police department is moving on to tracking speeding in school zones throughout the city.

"We move the device from place to place, based on requests and need," said Mitchell.