The City of Ripon continued to closely monitor traffic through town.

Police Chief Ed Ormonde reported at the Oct. 9 Ripon City Council meeting that his officers spent three days in late September observing motorists.

The result of that were 100 traffic stops with 72 citations issued – 23 were for speeding while another 20 were for failing to stop.

“Most of that occurred on West Ripon Road near Jack Tone Road,” he said.

The other citations were for cellphone-use and seat belt infractions.

“We did make a couple of criminal arrests,” Ormonde added.

Elected leaders, in recent months, have discussed ways of dealing with the weekday cut-through commuter traffic. Increased numbers of motorists use Ripon to avoid the congestion that often occurs on Highway 99 and the Highway 120 Bypass during commute hours, causing great concern to residents.

Staff pointed out that the city streets were not designed to handle the increased traffic – possible calming measures such as restricting the right turn movements for those traveling east on West Ripon Road along Rues Road and South Highland Avenue coupled with installing a landscape median on Main Street between Jack Tone and Wilma Avenue were discussed as ways of remedying the problem.

In the recent operation, multiple officers were used at several locations around town, according to Ormonde.

To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.