Cheyenne Mayor Says Progress Is Being Made On Central Ave. Speeding

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins says an enhanced enforcement effort against speeding motorists in the Central Avenue area is paying dividends, although he says it's still a problem.

Mayor Says 125 Speeding Tickets Have Been Issued

In his Friday ''Mayor's Minute" column, the mayor wrote the following:

A quick update on our Critical Traffic Control Area designation on Central Avenue: in the first couple of weeks, we have written 125 tickets for speeding. While I am encouraged that speeds are slowly coming down, they are not at the levels where Central Avenue speeds are safe. Before the designation, 39.8% of cars were going over the posted speed limit, today that percentage is 28.4%. I know the challenge for this section of road is it goes from 45 miles per hour to 30 just before the neighborhood. Thank you to the 71.6% of Cheyenne drivers who understand driving safely makes our neighborhoods safer.

The CTCA program lets city residents ask for special attention to areas they say are experiencing a .lot of traffic issues.

Cheyenne Police last month said they were targeting the Central Avenue corridor for traffic enforcement efforts, with steps including  increased police patrols, stiffer fines and more signage.

The mayor a couple of weeks ago wrote about joining a Cheyenne Police Officer on traffic control: ''We set up on a busy neighborhood street and used LIDAR to monitor speeds. In a four-hour shift, we found many drivers going at or below the speed limit of 30 mph – thank you to those drivers. We also had a dozen cars that our radar system caught going over 40 mph. On Tuesday, he clocked several cars going over 55 mph and one going 60! I can tell you the folks we pulled over were shocked by the $200 to $300 tickets they received. Life is busy and we are all in a hurry. Please join City Council and I in our goal to make our community safer by slowing down and driving the speed limit.''