At its June 1 meeting, the Londonderry Town Council heard from Police Chief Kim Bernard and Lieutenant Chris Olson regarding ongoing efforts to address vehicle noise and dangerous driving on Delta and Planeview Drives.
“Two or three weeks back we received a complaint from a resident saying that the north part of town has been seeing increasing traffic noise, screeching vehicles, etc.,” Bernard said.
Olson noted that problems in the area are longstanding.
“Initially, we put up some pretty high-tech cameras up there,” he said. “It’s been an ongoing problem with reckless driving, speeding, and stunt-like behavior. The incidents unfortunately happen unpredictably. We had the cameras up for about two to three weeks, and we could not determine a pattern. It happened morning, afternoon, evening, late at night.”
His presentation included photos and videos showing street racing, burnouts, and drifting.
“It’s a major problem, it’s completely unsafe,” Olson said. “Delta Drive is used for 18 wheelers to turn around in the industrial and commercial buildings up there. When we would see behavior like this, we would dispatch officers immediately. Unfortunately, by the time we got up there, the drivers would be gone. This stuff happens so intermittently that directed patrol alone is not going to fix this problem.”
Olson suggested speed bumps as a “cost effective” deterrent.
“Could they rip these up?” asked Vice Chair Shawn Faber, referring to the removable nature of seasonal speed bumps.
He was told that “all it takes is a wrench” to remove them. Permanent cameras were also discussed, though the temporary cameras previously used were unable to capture license plates.
“They can’t grab the license plate, correct?” asked Councilor Deb Paul. “There would be nothing to keep the kids from ripping out the cameras either, or spraypainting them.”
Olson responded that better placed cameras would likely be more effective.
“If we could put them on the straightaway, we could get the license plates going in or out of Planeview,” he said. “The cameras we’ve had are pretty highspeed. We’ve installed them in several different locations and never once have they been seen.”
Other proposed measures included permanent “No Parking” signs and increased random patrols. Bernard said anyone damaging signs or cameras would be arrested.
Town Manager Shaun Mulholland recommended working with the Department of Public Works to explore structural solutions, such as closing lesser used sections of the road.
Councilor Jim Bouchard raised concerns about state law governing highway surveillance.
“Surveillance means determining the ownership of a motor vehicle or the identity of a motor vehicle’s occupants on a public way through the use of cameras or other imaging devices,” he said. “If they write a ticket and our code goes against the state and gets thrown out, you know how quickly that’s going to go over on social media.”
Some suggested installing a gate to limit access to problem areas. Bernard noted that highway surveillance is allowed on a “case by case basis” during active investigations involving unlawful activity.
There was general agreement that the Town Council should update its traffic management regulations to streamline enforcement and align them with state law. The first step would be formal approval of new parking regulations on Planeview Drive.
After discussion, the Council voted to schedule a public hearing on “No Parking” signs for Monday, July 6.