South Lake Minnetonka Police Chief Brian Tholen has one wish for the summer: No crashes on Hwy. 7 that kill or seriously injure anyone.
It's a tall order, but one his department and several others along the the heavily-traveled corridor from St. Louis Park to Minnetrista hope to pull off by joining forces through an initiative called Safe 7 Summer.
"One fatal is too many," Tholen said. "We can do our part to slow traffic down and put the message out there that we won't sit back and have people get hurt or killed."
From Memorial Day through Labor Day, five police departments will dedicate officers to traffic enforcement within their borders as staffing allows, and at times collaborate with their neighbors and the State Patrol on targeted enforcement events.
Police will be looking for drivers who are distracted, intoxicated, speeding or not wearing their seat belts, said Capt. Jason Tait with the Minnetonka Police Department.
Tait came up with the idea for the campaign after looking at crash data in Minnetonka and found there were more issues on Hwy. 7 than anywhere else in the city. Two of the most problematic intersections are at busy crossings on County Road 101 and on Williston Road, he said.
He invited other departments that patrol Hwy. 7 to join the initiative.
Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) data shows there were 13 crashes resulting in a serious injury or fatality along the 20-mile stretch of Hwy. 7 in western Hennepin County from January 2020 through the first quarter of this year.
