"Slow It Down In Town"

October 1, 2007

The dates for the 2007-2008 STEP Wave in Pittsburg are:
October 26-31, 2007
March 7-16, 2008
May 19- June 1, 2008
Aug 15- Sep 1, 2008

"Slow It Down In Town" has become the theme for the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) that the City of Pittsburg has been participating in for a little over a year now. This program is funded by the Texas Department of Transportation by pass through funding from the Federal Department of Transportation and pays the salaries of local officers on an overtime basis to work enforcement of speed related traffic laws.

Many local residents have complained for some time about the general disregard that motorist have for complying with the traffic laws. Speed has been an especial concern on the Highways that double as residential streets. Speed surveys done by the Pittsburg Police Department confirmed that only a small percentage of motorist were complying with posted speed limits. Through four stages of the program in the last twelve months however, compliance rates have increased by twenty percent.

The STEP program has been received with mixed feelings but overall the feedback from folks living in town as well as business owners has been positive.

Some of the more frequently asked questions on the STEP program are:

Q- "How many tickets does and Officer have to write?"
A- Officers are expected to work diligently while working the program but there are no quotas. quotas are not only an inappropriate way of doing business but against the law.

Q- "Why are officer being brought in on overtime instead of working traffic enforcement during their regular shifts?"
A- Officers do work traffic enforcement during their regular shifts but the need for other things outweighs the availability to work traffic. With an increase in calls for service and other crime prevention activities the Department has to prioritize. The STEP program allows the Department to effectively address the problem albeit only four concentrated times per year.

Q- "Can Officers run radar while sitting on private property?"
A- Yes, if they have permission from the property owner or it is otherwise open. There have been numerous request from folks who own property in town to have an officer run radar from their property to try and slow folks down.

Q- "Isn't this being used to generate money for the city?"
A- No, if this was the purpose the Officers would not write warnings which has been done at about a two to one ratio. Most of the money from traffic fines goes to the State. The purpose of the program is to get people to comply with the laws, unfortunately it takes writing tickets to do so.

Q- " Why are the main roads the only ones being worked?"
A- The area for STEP includes all of Pittsburg but the primary focus is Greer Blvd, Jefferson, Quitman, Daingerfield, Rusk, Mt. Pleasant, and Lafayette (all State Highways) since these areas have the higher frequency of speeding.

Q- "If this is a speed enforcement project why are you writing tickets for not wearing seat belts?"
A- "Just because the focus is on speed does not mean the officers will ignore other violations, quite the contrary is true. Make sure you wear your seat belt, have valid registration and inspection certificates, and obey other traffic laws"

Q- "Why do you publicize the fact that you are working this and tell people where you are?"
A- This was never established to be a surprise program, we want people to slow down and obey the law. If we tell people when and where we will be this reinforces what our intent is.

Q- "How were the dates chosen for the STEP program?"
A- The state has designated "Waves" for the smaller communities, we chose dates that would allow us to space it out over the year?

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Last modified: 11/28/07