This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After my speeding ticket in Holladay last week, I invited readers to warn of other speed traps so I could pass the information on and promote public safety by urging drivers to slow down in those areas.
I received some interesting responses, including a great conversation with Holladay City Manager Randy Fitts, who was disappointed to learn I already paid the $90 ticket online with my credit card. He was hoping I would pay by check so he could frame it.
I now agree with many readers that the 30 mph speed limit is not unreasonable on 2700 East between 3900 and 4500 South because of a school, church and many joggers and dog walkers on that street.
But I have learned from area residents that my mistake was driving southbound, on the west side of 2700 East, instead of northbound, on the east side.
The Holladay boundary goes down the middle of 2700 East with Holladay on the west. The east side is in unincorporated Millcreek Township. So ticket revenue that flows to the city of Holladay only applies to citations given on the west side of the street.
Fitts points out, though, that the city receives only 10 percent of the fine. So in my case, it was $9, probably enough to buy a bag of doughnuts.
Here, according to readers, are spots to watch out for.
• I'm told that the entire city of Highland is a speed trap. As you drive around the town, the speed limit changes without apparent reason — from 40 to 30 to 35 to 30 to 25 and on and on. One reader tells me when a Highland cop tailed him, he decided to have some fun with the officer. He kept right at the changing speed limits, speeding up or slowing down depending on the latest sign, and drove around for 15 minutes until the cop got bored and pulled into a subdivision.
• On 3000 East northbound between Fort Union Blvd. and the Cottonwood Corporation center, the Cottonwood Heights Police officers, I'm told, love to lurk on a side street about halfway down the hill and tag people for going over the 25 mph speed limit, right where it changes to 40 mph.
• Salt Lake City motorcycle cops routinely run radar on 2100 South between 1300 East and 1700 East where the speed limit is only 30 mph despite it being a six-lane highway. A few years ago I wrote about one motorcycle cop who, neighbors told me, would go up and down 2100 South looking for prey and would turn on his siren whenever he approached a red light so he could go through it and not waste his time.
• One reader recently received a speeding ticket near the Garner Funeral home on 11th Avenue above Salt Lake City. He was westbound going 35 in a 25 mph zone. Guilty as charged, he said. But when he asked the motorcycle cop why he sets up in an area with no houses or cross streets, the officer told him there had been many complaints about speeders from the neighbors. The only neighbors in the area are the mausoleum on the north and the cemetery on the south — all dead people.
• On Beck Street, southbound toward Victory Road, a cop often sits at the first traffic light, but the speed limit is still 50 mph. About a half mile down the road, the speed drops to 45 and there often is a cop just beyond the sign. Once drivers reach Victory Road, the speed goes back to 50.
• On 900 South heading down a steep hill toward 900 East, the speed limit drops to 25 mph. During rush hour, there can be cops with radar hiding in an alley just east of the Great Harvest store on 9th and 9th, and they wave cars over as they pass by so they can nab as many as possible. The stopped cars usually pull into the Great Harvest parking lot. A few years ago, the then-manager of the store asked one of the motorcycle cops to please have the cars pull back on the road so they wouldn't take up the limited space for store customers. The manager says the cop snapped back and told him never to tell him what to do.