Police say radar zone is fair

JEFF HUNTLEY A car travels into Milltown along Riva Avenue, which has a speed limit of 25 mph. Some residents claim the road is a speed trap. Police, however, say there is more than enough warning time to slow down.

MILLTOWN — It is no secret that police officers position their radar devices on roads where speeding vehicles are more likely to be caught.

Milltown’s Riva Avenue is not only one of these locations, but also one that some area residents have been calling a speed trap.

Caught speeders will often complain that there wasn’t enough time to slow down or that they didn’t realize the speed limit was only 25 mph, said police.

Some will even venture to argue that the road moves in a downhill direction, making it harder to decelerate.

Police Chief Raymond Geipel, however, maintains that the radar detection along Riva Avenue is legitimate, as are the tickets being issued there.

"We certainly don’t give out an overwhelming amount of tickets there," said Geipel. "And it’s not as if this is something new. We’ve been using radar on Riva Avenue for years."

Riva Avenue begins in a nonresidential area of East Brunswick where the speed limit is posted as 40 mph.

As cars traveling east approach the East Brunswick/Milltown border, the speed limit lowers to 25 mph to accommodate the residential zoning.

"Vehicles are given more than enough warning to slow down," said Geipel. "There is a sign stating an end to the 40 mph zone, then another sign marking the start of the 25 mph zone.

"As to an alleged downhill grade, it is minimal, if one exists at all."

Geipel also added that a 25 mph speed limit along Riva Avenue has been enforced for as long as the road has existed.

Furthermore, whenever radar is being used, it is positioned closer to Main Street and well into the 25 mph zone, he said.

"This means that our officers are more likely to stop the speeders exiting town, rather than those driving through the so-called speed trap," said Geipel.

— Nicole C. Vaccaro