Genoa releases data from new radar sign

More than 90 percent of the 6,315 northbound motorists entering Genoa are exceeding the speed limit, according to data from the first week a new radar sign was in operation.

Only 613 drivers were at the 25 mph limit when the sign recorded their speed.

Another 3,168 were traveling between 26-35 mph, while 1,299 are driving between 36-40 mph.

A group of townspeople installed the sign on March 30. Donated by the Friends of Genoa, Gordon Pasley, Brendan Riley, Bill Brooks and Town Manager Matt Bruback. 

The top speed recorded was 67 mph 4-5 p.m.

On Wednesday, Brooks shared a weekly report with the town board. While the sign records speeds, it doesn’t record license plate numbers.

“This effort was necessitated by the Nevada Department of Transportation District 2 declining to underwrite the cost by pleading budget penury, despite the availability of numerous annual and more recent multi-million-dollar federal grants,” Brooks said in a letter to The R-C. “Through this initial effort, it is hoped that two other devices can be placed by Douglas County on the north access of Genoa along Jacks Valley Road, and another by NDOT on the Genoa Lane access.”

Brooks said the town should contact both the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Nevada Highway Patrol to deal with the speeding.

“Hopefully, this initial local collaborative effort in providing this flasher will be the catalyst by which the various state and county governmental agencies can more efficiently and expeditiously address this speeding and other issues in Genoa.”

The $5,000 cost of the radar sign was donated by Friends of Genoa, who officially turned it over to the town on Wednesday.

The town, which pre-dates by more than a half-century the advent of the automobile, has had a long love-hate relationship with motorists.

On May 1, parking rules take effect requiring a residential permit to park along Mill Street and banning parking on Junction Alley between Carson Street and Candy Dance Lane.