so let me get this straight,

the town (which is going broke) builds all sorts of 'traffic calming' islands (the ones on the VERY NARROW) asylum are my personal favorites. you can see my previous postings here and here and here. not only were they a GIANT waste of money, they are useless AND DANGEROUS

anyway, i did a posting not too long ago about all of the traffic cameras and new lights i saw going in around town. i tried to find it just now but can't (could it have been a figment of my fertile imagination? perhaps).

we're spending THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON TRAFFIC CAMERAS THAT ONLY SEND OUT WARNING MESSAGES? wtf?????????????? IF and i do mean IF they are going to save lives, FINE. but the corner of boulevard and whiting lane? no effing way. during SOME heavily trafficked times there is a school crossing guard there ANYWAY. i can think of 20 other places in west hartford that need that camera MORE than boulevard and whiting lane. is it because the houses in that area are bigger than the houses in OTHER areas? i sure don't know. but come on. THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS and not one legit traffic ticket to offset those cameras?
the following courant article lists some accident data from west hartford AND the particular corner in question. i personally would like to see that data and/or do a bit more investigating on my own. sure boulevard can be a speedway, but isn't that what we have the police for? well one of the reasons.

Camera To Keep An Eye On Speeders In West Hartford
By JOSH KOVNER | The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - Speeders beware — you are being watched.

But the speed-detection camera installed this week at Boulevard and Whiting Lane is a kind of compassionate Big Brother that just wants to slow down drivers. Those photographed traveling 45 mph or faster at this 30-mph location will get a photo with a warning letter.

The legislature prohibits using these radar cameras for enforcement purposes, so the joint effort by police, the engineering office and the public works department amounts to a public awareness campaign.

And make no mistake, the public could stand to be more aware. There were 2,626 crashes in town last year, 426 with injuries, and two fatalities.

Assistant Police Chief Robert McCue said excessive speed was a factor in most of the accidents.

The intersection of Boulevard and Whiting Lane — the first in a series of locations for the camera over the next year — has a "moderate" accident history but a high injury rate, said Lt. David Dubiel, head of the traffic division. Eight people were injured in the 11 crashes there in 2008, Dubiel said.........