One way Vermont scares away ski tourists

This is an issue all over Vermont. Chester, Vermont has a bad habit of enforcing speed limits on out of state SUV's particularly stringently on Fri-Sun too. Be careful out there!
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Police, ski area feud over border village speed zone

By Wilson Ring, Associated Press Writer July 8, 2006

NORTH TROY, Vt. --Three years ago Lenny Zenonos was hired as the part-time police chief in this tiny village on the Canadian border. Part of his job was to slow down the motorists who roar into town from Quebec on their way to the neighboring Jay Peak ski area.
Despite aggressive speed enforcement, cars still speed into the village. And Jay Peak, the largest employer in the region, complains that its customers are being targeted and business is being chased away.
In this dispute between one of the state's signature resorts and a small, rural village of 650 people, though, the little guys are winning for now.
Jay Peak President Bill Stenger went to a village trustees meeting earlier this year to complain about the speed enforcement, pointing out the resort's importance to the region's economic vitality.
"We work very hard to let it be known we're open for business," Stenger said. "That doesn't make them feel welcome."
One person who gets a speeding ticket and refuses to come back will probably warn off 100 potential customers, Stenger said.
Village officials were unmoved.
"If you don't want to have any encounters with our police department, don't," Village Trustee President Rene Patenaude said recently. "Just do what you're supposed to do. It's that simple."
Although Stenger said he fully supported the goal of protecting North Troy residents from dangerous speeders, he believes the police department is focused on picking up Canadian tourists. He also argues that the area where the speed limit drops from 40 to 25 was too restrictive.
Stenger has stationed employees along the road into Vermont warning motorists there's a speed trap ahead. There's also a sign on a tree a half mile inside Canada warning about the speed trap ahead in North Troy. Stenger said Jay Peak brochures warn people to slow down through North Troy and a warning would be noted on the resort's Web site.
Zenonos said Stenger's employees made such efforts only when he or his fellow officer were conducting radar checks.
"If there're going to be up there seven days a week that would be different," Zenonos said. "You might as well have a neon sign that says, 'There are no police today.'"
"If somebody is going 50 miles an hour through town that's too fast," Stenger said.
From the North Troy border station, adjacent to the Quebec town of Highwater, it's about a half mile to the village and six miles to Jay Peak. The first sign inside the United States on Vermont Route 243 lists 40 as the speed limit. A short distance later there's a warning that the limit is going down to 25. The speed limit sign is just beyond that on a downhill curve.
Stenger estimates there's just 100 feet between the two signs. Given the downhill curve, Stenger said, he had to keep his foot on the brake to slow down enough to reach the speed limit.
The North Troy police frequently set up their radar gun at a four-way intersection about a half a mile further on.
"It just stinks," Stenger said.
Jay Peak, located on the north side of a mountain of the same name, is about two hours from Montreal and it relies on Canadian customers for 55 percent of its business. French language radio broadcasts are easier to pick up on the road to the mountain than English broadcasts are.
Keeping the mountain attractive to Canadians is one of Stenger's highest priorities. He always has to worry about how the exchange rate between Canadian and U.S. currencies will affect business. He also worries about border security.
There's not much he can do about the exchange rate, which now is at its most favorable rate in years. And he tries to smooth the border crossings by letting officials with Customs and Border Protection know when it's going to be busy so extra agents can be ready.
"I don't want anything standing in the way of a smooth, friendly crossing," Stenger said.
The speeding issues in North Troy are a different matter.
Before Zenonos was hired, state police covered the town. But troopers couldn't be there enough to make a difference. Residents complained of vandalism or harassment. And they said the speeding traffic threatened pedestrians, especially in the winter when high snow banks force people to walk in the road.
Zenonos, born in Great Britain of Greek descent and who speaks with a pronounced English accent, said that since he was hired the other quality of life issues have improved.
Not the speeding, though. The overall relationship between Zenonos and the resort is tense.
Zenonos says Jay Peak has encouraged Customs and Border Protection to make it easier for people to enter the United States to go skiing. He worries that could be a way for someone to get into the United States illegally, be they terrorists or anyone else.
Zenonos said that mentioning his concerns publicly could cause him difficulties with the big employer in the region, but he said he felt compelled to raise the issue.
"Someone has to step forward before something bad occurs, before we have another disastrous incident that could cost the lives of American citizens," Zenonos said.
Customs officials, as well as the union that represents customs workers and Stenger all deny that skiers get special treatment when they cross the border.
But Zenonos said that when several carloads of skiers cross the border together, he doesn't think all the occupants of those cars get the attention from Customs officials that they should.
"I know they have several extra officers during the weekends during ski season," Zenonos said. "I see them coming across in convoys. When you have six or eight cars coming at you at a time you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see they were waved through."
Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ted Woo said it wasn't Zenonos' job to watch the border.
"The CBP primary mission is to prevent terrorists or terrorist weapons from entering the United States while facilitating legitimate travel," Woo said.
"They can't speak as far as what we should or should not be doing," Woo said. "I can't say why they give out tickets."
The lingering issue has been speed enforcement, though. And Stenger said that since he found village officials unsympathetic to his request, he would find a way to slow the traffic down. Now he's planning to buy a roadside sign with flashing lights that will warn motorists to slow down and donate it to the village.
Village officials probably would welcome the offer. "I would be extremely grateful to anything that would help us to get traffic to slow down," Zenonos said.