LANSING, Mich. — It’s been almost a year since Lansing launched Operation Slow Down, and Mayor Andy Schor said he believes the effort to target speeders and reckless drivers is working.
Operation Slow Down started in September. It gives residents a way to report dangerous driving in their neighborhoods. The city evaluates complaints and, in many instances, will increase police presence in the area.
“We have had more officers that we were able to put on patrols and they’re pulling people over and letting people know that they’re going to be pulling them over,” Schor said.”The idea is not to issue tickets, the idea is to slow people down.”
Police said they've given out a total of 354 traffic citations since the initiative was implemented. The citations range from $130 to $250.
“I believe our police officers are doing everything they can possible to address some of those concerns that they’ve heard,” said City Councilwoman Patricia Spitzley. “So, I would hope and I don’t believe that our police officers are making these stops for pretextual issues.”
Spitzley, who is running against Schor in the mayoral race, said she supports the effort and hopes it’s something that can stay around for years to come.
“We need to look at a holistic approach of how we do public safety,” Spitzley said. “We have to stop responding to issues of the moment. We need to have a holistic plan on how we employ our public safety officers so that they understand their role in keeping our neighborhood safe."
As of right now, the city is using federal dollars to pay for the initiative, but Schor said he wants to keep the initiative alive and is willing to divert resources to do so.
“Operation Slow Down is not a budget issue, it’s a resource issue and where we put our resources and have them respond,” he said.
To find out more information about Operation Slow Down, click here.
