Council member Ramirex responded to my email.  This is the email I sent to all the council members, his response, and my reply:

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Council member [insert any council member's name here],

I am writing to follow up on the petition I submitted, along with a full list of signers and two supporting lists documenting that more than 2,000 drivers have never paid the cited infraction.

I spoke directly with Mayor Olson to request a response to the petition for myself and the signers. To date, no response has been provided. In light of this silence, I delivered a letter to city hall and am now emailing you to ensure that the matter is acknowledged.

The petition signers and I believe we are entitled to a clear and timely explanation from city leadership. I respectfully request that this issue be addressed at the next council meeting and that a written response be provided.

Respectfully,

Michael Stanzel

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Good afternoon Mr. Stanzel,

Thanks for the email and the presentations you have given, during public comment, over the months as well as the data that you have provided.  

I look forward to the school zone camera discussion at next weeks study session and hope a path forward with this emerges from the discussion.

I think there needs to be a discussion on when these cameras will sunset as they should not go on into perpetuity and how these zones are being improved so the cameras can sunset.  

Thanks and enjoyed your interview on the Jason Rantz show.

Jason Ramirez

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[My response to Council member Ramirez] 

I look forward to seeing how this goes.

The guide that Vermont made for small cities said:

"to effectively enforce a law, the public must believe that the law is reasonable. Local officials should not set a uniform speed limit for all roads and streets, nor should they succumb to pressure by residents to lower speed limits. The random installation of signs and speed limits can be detriment to safety by breeding disrespect for all speed limits. The majority of motorists will drive at a speed that they perceive to be safe. In the absence of a study identifying that speed limit, setting a speed limit too low merely punishes motorists who otherwise obey the law. Studies indicate that the measured average speed that most drivers perceive safe is at or very close to the speed limit established by a traffic engineering study."

While the state has said that ALL school zones are to be set at 20mph, police departments have discretion to decide what is reasonable.  There are well over 2,000 drivers who have not even responded to the infraction with no consequences. 

To me, this confirms the Vermont guide’s warning: these cameras have bred disrespect for both the speed limit and the city itself.

But most of all, I don't think it's a very nice way to treat the citizens of Edgewood.

Mike