BELLMEAD, Texas (KXXV) — The Bellmead Police Department is applying for Criminal Justice Grant Program through the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, to purchase technological equipment aimed at enhancing community and traffic safety.
- The department plans to purchase one (1) All Traffic Solutions ATS-5 Radar Trailer, including the Speed Alert 24 Variable Message Sign.
- In the past year, the city says there were a high number of motor vehicle accidents (753) and issued 1,857 speeding citations.
- The city has not been awarded any money at this point.
- This grant has no required match from the City of Bellmead, and if fully funded will pay 100% of the trailer.
- The continuing cost would be an annual subscription fee of $1,500.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
There's a new radar trailer that could be seen around Central Texas neighborhoods in the future.
"We use it to deploy it in different areas in the city so we can get detailed data that we can analyze and determine whether we have a problem in that area," Chief Myatt said.
"Then what we try to do is come up with a plan on how to alleviate that problem."
Through the U.S. Department of Justice, Bellmead hopes to get the money to buy a dual-purpose trailer and message board.
The city reported over the past year, that there were 753 motor vehicle accidents and nearly 2,000 speeding citations issued.
They say these numbers show ongoing traffic-related concerns that impact the community.
"I think having this trailer is a tool for us to be a little proactive as well," Myatt said.
The trailer also has a message board on it, which Bellmead's Police Chief Myatt says could alert drivers to anything on the road and help keep other city workers safe.
"We can't be everywhere, all the time," he said.
"This is another tool that we can deploy, stationary, for a longer period and be able to gather data so we can see if we have an issue there."
The Criminal Justice Grant Program would be fully funded with no required match and would cover 100% of the trailer's cost.
Buying the trailer would not involve the use of taxpayer dollars, but the continuing cost of it would be an annual subscription fee for the system that generates the traffic data.
