Residents Air Ire Over 'Bogus' Traffic Tickets, Offer Solutions

There were tears and exasperation at a forum Wednesday for residents in neighborhoods along Camino La Ronda, a residential street plagued by two problems—depending which residents you ask.

There are some who say drivers rarely yielded to stop signs and the 30 mph speeding limit is hardly obeyed. Others, however, argue the neighborhood is saturated with sheriff's deputies writing "bogus" tickets.

• Related:

More than 60 turned out for the spirited two-hour community meeting, also attended by the three motor deputies who have written—at the request of a couple of residents—hundreds of traffic citations in the area since June.

"You're the only neighborhood to come to such a large meeting like this. When you ask for this type of enforcement, you're going to get it," Sgt. Ray Ulmer told residents who said it was unfair they were being targeted. 

City engineers offered a myriad of solutions that could help keep the streets safer and negate the need for amplified patrols. The easiest and most cost effective solutions, which numerous residents seemed amenable to, include:

• Installing flashing lights to stop signs
• Adding bike lanes to narrow the width of the two-way street
• Building speed tables at stop signs (similar to speed humps, except they include a flat section on top)

La Ronda resident Ed Schmitt said he's received two "chicken salad tickets" but doesn't believe there's "some Bell-style revenue harvesting taking place," as some of his neighbors suggested.

"I would observe there are some problems," he said, echoing others' fears that consistent disregard for traffic laws could lead to a bad car crash. "Let's start with something that's not overly expensive."