Police aim to slow speeders near parks

“I thought it was a school zone, and school is out.”

“I wasn’t speeding.”

“What park?”

It doesn’t matter what the excuse is. Driving faster than 20 mph in a signed park zone is a big no-no and could land you a $177 ticket.

The Spokane Police Department’s traffic unit has been enforcing playground and pool speed limits at city parks all week.

“Some say, ‘I didn’t know this was a park here.’ It’s six blocks long,” said Senior Patrol Officer Ryan Snider, as he scanned Mission Avenue in front of Chief Garry Park for speeders.

The ticket price is the same no matter how much over the speed limit drivers are traveling, said Snider. And this is one speeding ticket judges aren’t allowed to reduce.

The rule differs from school zone speed limits, which are enforced only when children are present.

“There don’t have to be any kids. It’s 24-7,” Snider said of park speed limits put in place when local schools let out for the summer.

Signs flagged with orange warn drivers of the speed limit near the playgrounds.

The consequences of speeding vehicles near parks can be even more serious for children.

“Look at this Ben and Jerry’s truck,” Snider said, pointing to a delivery truck near Mission Park. “He’s going well over 30 mph. What do you think his stop distance is if a kid runs out in front of him?”

Two years ago, a car hit a woman and three of her children in a crosswalk near Comstock pool. The driver swerved around other stopped cars into the passing lane before hitting the family and seriously injuring them.

So Snider and other officers point their radar guns at oncoming or passing traffic, measuring speeds and then setting off to warn or ticket the offenders.

Drivers who slow down and are clocked just a couple of miles over the limit don’t need to worry, said Snider. The police are looking for drivers who don’t even bother to take their foot off the gas.

“We get some people that just fly past,” Snider said.