MANSFIELD — Mansfield police are giving residents another month to adjust to a new law aimed at reducing “cruising” on the so-called “Miracle Mile” portion of Park Avenue West.
The new ordinance was approved by City Council on May 7, aimed at limiting repeat vehicle traffic on Friday and Saturday nights between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. in an area with boundaries of West Fourth Street and Park Avenue West between Home and Trimble roads.
“This ordinance went into effect (May 7), however the Mansfield Division of Police would like to give everyone time to adjust to the change,” police Chief Jason Bammann said in a press release issued Friday.
“Officers have been advised not to cite under (the new law) until July 1,” the chief said.
“Officers can still conduct traffic enforcement under this ordinance to assist in educating (drivers) and may take action on other traffic violations if observed,” Bammann said.
The ordinance makes it a misdemeanor for someone to drive past a traffic control point selected a police officer more than two times in any two-hour period within the enforcement area.
The first violation will be a minor misdemeanor. A second violation within one year of the first is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. Additional violations within a year of the first offense would be third-degree misdemeanors.
There are exceptions created in the new law:
“This section shall not apply to any municipal, emergency, police, fire, ambulance or other governmental vehicle when such vehicle is being operated in an official capacity. In addition, this section shall not apply to any licensed public transportation vehicle, other business vehicles being driven for business or commercial purposes, or to residents of the designated area traveling to a specific destination.”
Bammann, a Mansfield native who was promoted to chief in March, told City Council members this spring that it’s not the “Miracle Mile” atmosphere it once was.
“When we were out there, (when) my parents were out there, people were truly out there to socialize. This crowd is out there to just wreak havoc. It’s a totally different crowd. We’ve had gun calls out there. We’ve had overdose calls out there. So it’s not the social gathering that it once was,” Bammann said in March.
The chief reiterated the new law will not impact delivery drivers, workers or people who live in the area.
“That’s what the misconception is. A lot of people didn’t read further down through the ordinance,” Bamman said.
“This is for for the individuals that are out there making that same pass back and forth and back and forth and just creating havoc in the area for the residents and people trying to enjoy the businesses.”
Safety Service Director Keith Porch, who was the police chief when legislation was first discussed in September, described for council last year moments when motorcyclists driving more than 100 miles per hour were trying to provoke officers to chase them, along with “blatant street races.”
“This law is not a guarantee that it’s going to solve the issues out there. It’s a combination of efforts. It’s a tool law enforcement can use,” he said in May.
One of the other tools Porch said the city will employ will be temporary speed bumps on the Miracle Mile from the end of June until September. The time frame will be from Friday evening until Sunday morning, he said.
“In my time as chief, I received hundreds and hundreds of calls every June with this issue, as I know every council person probably has as well,” Porch said.
“This has been an issue for years. I think that resistance (to the ordinance) is that since 1960, (cruising) has been going on out on Park Avenue West in Mansfield.
“I think opinions start changing when people start dying out there. So it’s only when that happens does that turn up the the temperature for this room,” Porch said.
