In New York, an Uncertain Future for Speed Cameras
The future of New York City’s speed camera program is in a limbo as the program is slated to end in 2018, unless extended by the state Legislature.
The program started in 2013 with 20 cameras, mostly in school zones. A few months later, it was extended to 140 zones, becoming a part of Mayor Bill De Blasio’s Vision Zero program — a city-wide initiative aimed at improving road safety. But a bill that would expand the program to 290 cameras did not come for vote in the state Senate earlier this year.
“If it expires, the entire program dissolves,’ said Sen. Jose Peralta, one of the sponsors of the bill. In that case, all the existing cameras will be shut off.
Critics say speed cameras serve mainly to generate revenue for the city. “A speed camera is a form of tax to make money,” says Suzelyn Eugene, a working mother of a five-year-old from Queens. “It’s an unlimited amount of tickets. Instead of buying more cameras, why don’t they invest in more school programs?”
Not so, says Julia Kite, research and policy director at Transportation Alternatives, a non-profit organization campaigning for safer and environment-friendly transport solutions. “These cameras are cost-effective.”. The group has advocated for more speed cameras, which Kite says work “like a vaccine” by preventing bad behavior on the roads. ””It has been proven that a person who gets a ticket doesn’t speed again.”
New York City Department of Transportation’s 2016 report points to a 63 percent reduction in traffic accidents and 13 percent fewer injuries in areas with speed cameras.
But Jeff Cohen, who runs an online database — www.photoenforced.com.ny — for speed cameras in the city, says any such claim is “too broad.” He says that cameras can make drivers “too cautious — and that is why many camera intersections have been known to cause more fender benders with sudden stopping.”
The cameras do have their supporters. Angie Bartee, a Queens mother of three kids, says speed cameras are essential around school zones. “People are just flying through the block like it’s a raceway,” she says next to William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens where her eldest goes.
Sen. Peralta is determined to get the bill passed next year. “We will push not only to renew it but to expand.”
