Cpl. Ryan Rosie at left and Stephan Bunker of Farmington attach a speed warning sign recently to a pole on the Town Farm Road in Farmington. Bunker donated the sign to help improve public safety. Submitted photo

FARMINGTON — Thanks to the generosity of a resident, Farmington Police Department has another device in its arsenal of tools.

“Longtime Farmington resident and community servant, Stephan Bunker recently donated a radar speed sign to the Town of Farmington,” Chief Kenneth Charles wrote in a release. “This solar powered sign can be semi-permanently placed in locations with speed related safety concerns and moved later to other locations.”

The sign uses radar technology to determine vehicle speeds while displaying warnings for apparent violations or excessive speed, Charles indicated. These signs also collect and provide data to allow law enforcement to target patrols for peak violation days and times, he noted.

“This technology can “calm” traffic when officers may not be present, encouraging voluntary compliance with traffic laws,” Charles wrote. “Officers cannot be everywhere all the time and the data collected helps focus traffic enforcement efforts when needed most.”

The gift of this device helps the department stretch taxpayer dollars to supplement police efforts, Charles noted.

In recent reports to the Select Board, Charles has shared results of speed data compiled for streets and roads in Farmington that the department has been watching or received complaints about. The data collection device is a small black box, people don’t notice it, Charles noted at the July 23 board meeting.

“We are going to try to get to the more major, the higher volume complaint areas,” Charles said then. “I think it is a useful tool. It is relatively easy to set up, it’s small. People are going to change behaviors when there is a big, flashing sign in their face so we have to be creative in how we set the system up. We do have those options.”

At that meeting Charles said he wants to see what driving behaviors are when drivers don’t see a police car or a flashing sign.

“My history in public service goes way back,” Bunker told The Franklin Journal on Monday, Aug. 12. “My first job was as a Farmington police officer back in the 1970s and I have always had a connection with highway safety and public safety.”

Bunker has served as a chair of the Select Board and is a firefighter for Farmington Fire Rescue Department.

When Bunker saw the opportunity to acquire the “very advanced radar system” sign, he said his first thought was for Farmington “as a means to help promote safety for both drivers and the many pedestrians on our roads and streets. I was thrilled to be able to bring it back home and donate it to the community, hope that it would help address the many complaints we have about speeders.”

Bunker said the recently shared speed data did play a part.

“That did come to mind as I was watching those reports,” he noted. “The numbers were very telling. I thought what better way to make a donation towards that very effort and cut down the number of traffic accidents and speeders that we have. Make my street and yours a little bit safer.”