City to Install Cameras at High-Speed School Zones

Transportation Nation reported on Tuesday that city officials have the green light they needed from Albany to install speed cameras at 100 schools where speeding cars are a regular occurrence.

 

Speaking at P.S. 81 in the Bronx, Mayor Michael Bloomberg heralded the passage of legislation approving a five-year pilot program.

“For the first time ever — sounds hard to believe — but for the first time ever, we’re going to be able to install speed cameras at up to 20 locations,” he said.

Albany had been reluctant to pass speed camera legislation but after a spate of high-profile traffic deaths and a home rule message from New York’s City Council it passed both houses last week. Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would sign the bill into law.

The city will rotate the cameras, based on need.

“The cameras are mobile so we’ll be able to move them around and address high-speed locations that may change over time,” said Transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

In 2012, 274 people were killed in traffic crashes in the city. According to the D.O.T., speeding is the greatest factor behind those crashes and is responsible for about 30 percent of the city’s traffic fatalities.