Bob J
Posts:112
 | | 11/20/2007 11:19 AM |
 Alert | According to the 85239 News article, the primary focus for police officers is the shopping center between SR 238 and the light at Cobblestone Farms. The next sentence states "Now that MPD is running almost 24 hours a day (the Pinal County Sheriff's Office provides service during off times), expect officers to continue to pay close attention to this issue.
The shopping center has no speed bumps whatsoever, why? Bashas' strip mall across the street has them all over the place. So does Fry's. Don't the police have anything better to do than waste at least two police cars patrolling a private property parking lot. How can they prove you were taking a short cut unless there was a cop to identify you coming into the parking lot with the intention of taking a short cut, and then another cop at the other end to identify you as someone taking a short cut, or does one cop chase you through the shopping center to issue you a $175.00 ticket for taking the short cut? Maybe bouncing over 15 or 20 speed bumps would be enough of a deterrent to make the short cut less attractive. Another way would be for the City to not close all the downtown streets at the same time, for three days in a row, and not create a massive traffic jam like we had a week ago. It was complete chaos! | | | |
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movinonup
Posts:117
| | 11/23/2007 9:54 AM |
Alert | | Just fight it. It is very hard to prove that someone is taking a shortcut. Very easy to get around this if one puts some thought into it. | | | |
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YZRacer
Posts:1580
| | 11/23/2007 10:20 AM |
Alert | | Honestly, if you are pulled over after coming out of that shopping center and they ask if you were using it to bypass the light (which is the issue I believe), and you say no I was doing business there. They will ask you for a receipt or something to prove it (your Cherry Limeade from Sonic, an ACE receipt, newly cleaned drycleaning, bag from the $ store, etc), then I don't think they have a foot to stand on. But if you can't prove that you were in that area to do business, then I think they can bust you for using it as a shortcut. | |
If you can't spot the loser, it might be you
Senior Member
Posts: 665
Joined: Jun 2006 | |
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Bob J
Posts:112
| | 11/23/2007 10:32 AM |
Alert | What right do they (the Maricopa PD) have pulling you over after you come out of a shopping center and asking you to show a receipt from whatever business you patronized? You could have thrown out the receipt, or thrown it out when you emptied your tray from some eating establishment, or didn't find what you wanted if you visited Ace's Hardware, or worse still, a deposit or withdrawal receipt from a bank. Just because you enter the shopping center doesn't mean you HAVE to buy something.
If the businesses don't want you passing through, then they should install speed bumps. $175.00 'Short Cut' tickets by the Maricopa Police Department is harrassment, pure and simple. | | | |
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Jason
Posts:3377
| | 11/23/2007 12:52 PM |
Alert | They will ask you for a receipt or something to prove it (your Cherry Limeade from Sonic, an ACE receipt, newly cleaned drycleaning, bag from the $ store, etc), then I don't think they have a foot to stand on. But if you can't prove that you were in that area to do business, then I think they can bust you for using it as a shortcut.
This thinking is convoluted. They need to prove that you were shortcutting the light, not the other way around. How? Film you from start to finish through the shopping center might work. Reason? There are plenty of times that people go into the shopping center and then change their mind about going to a store or fast food place. This should not cost you $175. On second thought, that wouldn't work, because sometimes people change their minds without stopping anywhere.
Another point is that if I am on Smith-Enke, and I go through the light, turn right into the Walgreens shopping center and exit at the Cobblestone light to bypass traffic between Smith-Enke and Cobblestone, I have broken no laws. I did not use the property to avoid any traffic control devices.
More revenue enforcement. | |
Joined: Jul 2005 | |
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leehopper
Posts:114
| | 11/27/2007 8:17 PM |
Alert | And in the meanwhile, people continue to run red lights!
One day coming south on 347, different cars ran every red light from El Dorado to Fry's
Where were the Police?
Can someone anwser this | |
There are no real reasons for failure,
only excuses | |
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JasonY
Posts:1290
| | 11/28/2007 2:34 PM |
Alert | Cutting through a private drive to avoid a traffic light = $175 fine
Running a stop sign = $140 fine
Doing 15MPH OVER the speed limit on a highway = $155 fine
I think running stop signs and speeding excessively are far dangerous than going through an empty parking lot early in the morning. But go figure.......... | |
"When the government fears the People, that is Liberty. When the People fear the Government, that is tyranny."
~ Thomas Jefferson | |
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mallardisme
Posts:526
| | 11/28/2007 3:38 PM |
Alert | The last time I was cited for this was in LA.
It was quite funny, but did cost me time in the end.
What happened was, I went to the market. When I arrived, I realized that I did not have my list, so I left. That was when I was cited.
That cost me a day in court. I did, in the end, win... But what an abuse of authority.
For the record, I never went back to that store. I never spent another dollar with them.... EVER. | |
Let X=X | |
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JasonY
Posts:1290
| | 11/28/2007 3:42 PM |
Alert | | The only reason they started doing is this is because the stores there complained to the city. Why they would care (because they are all closed at 6am in the morning) is beyond me...... | |
"When the government fears the People, that is Liberty. When the People fear the Government, that is tyranny."
~ Thomas Jefferson | |
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DesertDweller
Posts:2539
| | 11/28/2007 4:59 PM |
Alert | Actually the police don't have to prove anything to give you a ticket - but they do need to prove it to the judge if you take it to court. I believe the process is that the first police car describes anyone entering from 238 and the second one looks for it coming out in a time frame that makes it unlikely that he was shopping. If you only spend 90 seconds or so in the shopping center, it was unlikely that you were shopping.
I really do hope our police never stop someone just to see if they have a receipt. That lacks probable cause.
It does cause problems with the traffic control when people bypass the light and come out in CF. It can't save more than a couple of minutes tops. I don't understand why people don't leave a few minutes earlier if it's that much of a problem. This same attitude is what causes people to cut in and out of traffic on 347 to try to get there faster.
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Stupid should hurt!
Desert Dweller - Senior Member - Posts: 2982 - Joined: Feb 2006 | |
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Bob J
Posts:112
| | 11/29/2007 8:10 AM |
Alert | | If the businesses complained to the city about "short cutters", why are they allowing tractors (as in tractor trailers, but in this case the tractors only) to park in the parking lot along 238 with "FOR SALE" signs on them? They are parked there all day long, and I would assume all night long, too. If that strip mall is private property, how do they get away with parking tractors with FOR SALE signs on them? | | | |
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Jason
Posts:3377
| | 11/29/2007 9:21 AM |
Alert | <div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By DesertDweller on 11/28/2007 4:59 PM
Actually the police don't have to prove anything to give you a ticket - but they do need to prove it to the judge if you take it to court. I believe the process is that the first police car describes anyone entering from 238 and the second one looks for it coming out in a time frame that makes it unlikely that he was shopping. If you only spend 90 seconds or so in the shopping center, it was unlikely that you were shopping.</div>
Therein lies the problem. That is not proof of intent to avoid obeying a traffic control device. I really hope that a judge would see it that way, but somehow, I doubt it. | |
Joined: Jul 2005 | |
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JasonY
Posts:1290
| | 11/29/2007 9:43 AM |
Alert | | Been there done that. Lost. Depends on the mood of the judge that day I suppose...... | |
"When the government fears the People, that is Liberty. When the People fear the Government, that is tyranny."
~ Thomas Jefferson | |
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AuntieEm
Posts:158
| | 12/11/2007 12:21 PM |
Alert | <div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By DesertDweller on 11/28/2007 4:59 PM
It does cause problems with the traffic control when people bypass the light and come out in CF. It can't save more than a couple of minutes tops. I don't understand why people don't leave a few minutes earlier if it's that much of a problem. This same attitude is what causes people to cut in and out of traffic on 347 to try to get there faster.
</div>
It's not a matter of leaving earlier/running late. There are often times that it takes 20 minutes or more to go from Acacia Crossings to the light at Cobblestone. We're talking about two miles. That's insane! Driving through the parking lot and cutting through CF cuts down the time by about 15 minutes.
The city needs to do something about creating additional ways out of the city onto the 347. Why didn't the city create streets to the north of RED and CF? The bottleneck out of town is already bad, and only getting worse. | |
I'm walking 60 miles over three days in the Arizona Breast Cancer 3-Day because everyone deserves a lifetime! http://08.the3day.org/goto/emma | |
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Jason
Posts:3377
| | 12/11/2007 3:07 PM |
Alert | The city needs to do something about creating additional ways out of the city onto the 347. Why didn't the city create streets to the north of RED and CF? The bottleneck out of town is already bad, and only getting worse.
Two reasons:
#1) There wasn't a City of Maricopa when RED and CF were approved.
#2) The homes at the north of CF and RED back right up to tribal land. | |
Joined: Jul 2005 | |
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hendersona
Posts:382
| | 12/11/2007 5:00 PM |
Alert | | What do you do if you get cited for runnning a stop sign but you stoped?? Can you fight it?? | | | |
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caveman
Posts:972
| | 12/12/2007 10:32 AM |
Alert | | Time for me to give the same stupid response you see in threads about speeding. "If you just follow the law you have nothing to worry about" | | | |
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Too_legit_to_quit
Posts:31
| | 12/13/2007 4:22 PM |
Alert | | I heard Sonic has great breakfast sandwiches *hint* *hint* | | | |
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mallardisme
Posts:526
| | 12/13/2007 4:53 PM |
Alert | | I am sure that traffic will get better once we get the airport.... | |
Let X=X | |
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Bob J
Posts:112
| | 12/13/2007 10:40 PM |
Alert | | Just imagine the revenue the City of Maricopa willl get once they start giving $175 tickets to the planes for taking a "Short cut" because the only "run way" will be closed for paving! | | | |
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