STUART — The Stuart Police Department announced that it has established a dedicated traffic enforcement unit aimed at addressing traffic complaints and improving roadway safety throughout the city.
“These three officers are designated to enforce traffic laws. That is their primary focus and they will be targeting areas of the city that we receive complaints and also areas of the city where we have a high volume of crashes,” Lt. Brian Bossio said.
Bossio said officers will focus on locations frequently identified as problem zones.
“Some of the areas that we receive complaints would be Monterey Road between U.S. 1 and Ocean Boulevard. Obviously the Roosevelt Bridge, that has been a problem probably since they built the bridge. People tend to drive very quickly over that bridge. Central Parkway and U.S. 1 school zones, they are going to be located in active school zones regularly. So we will be targeting those areas,” he said.
Traffic-related calls are among the most common received by the department.
“One of the most consistent complaints the Stuart Police Department receives is traffic complaints. Speeding, running red lights, aggressive driving, careless driving, we receive these complaints regularly. So this is an opportunity for us to take action, to take enforcement and to hopefully increase the safety for all the motorists in the city of Stuart,” he said.
The unit consists of three officers who will enforce traffic laws and still respond to emergencies when needed.
“Now they’re still police officers, so they will still respond to emergencies if they occur during their tour of duty. So they will still be police officers out there, but they are assigned to specifically enforce traffic throughout their days,” Bossio said.
To maximize coverage, the officers will rotate schedules.
“One works primarily during the day, one in the evening time and one in the night time. And they will also have the flexibility to work together during campaigns such as Click It Or Ticket,” he said.
Bossio said the unit will continue to adapt as it develops.
“We are going to be assessing the unit as time goes on and we are going to be getting a fluid schedule to see how we can get maximum effect on their efforts,” he said.
Officers Matt Reeder, Danielle Mattetucci and Eric Lott make up the newly formed traffic unit.