- CSPD rolls out mobile speed cameras to improve safety citywide.
- The system targets school zones, parks, streets, and work zones.
- Officials emphasize education before automated enforcement starts.
Colorado Springs is officially kicking off a new era of speed enforcement. Forget having motorcycle cops hang out in random places; now it’s setting up mobile speed cameras. The units will move from place to place, all in an effort to reduce speeding and improve safety. After a month of sending out warnings, the police are now officially sending tickets.
More: Automated Speed Cameras Are Spreading, And More CT Towns Want In
Officers will use Automated Vehicle Identification Systems (AVIS) that rest inside marked vehicles. For now, the department only has two units, a dark grey and white Jeep Grand Cherokee, so they won’t exactly blanket the city with them, but residents can expect them to move around regularly.
Most of the time, they’ll focus on speed enforcement at school zones, parks, construction zones, and residential neighborhoods.
Who Pays and How Much
Just as we’ve seen in several other cities, tickets are only issued when the cameras detect a car going 11 mph or more over the limit. CSPD says citations will cost drivers $40 each unless in a school zone or work zone, where that figure doubles.
According to KRDO, the civilian employee in the AVIS vehicle will make around $80,000 a year. Chief Adrian Vasquez says that authorities expect the system to write about 12 tickets per hour. “It’ll be a zero cost to our citizens, zero cost to the city, and it’ll pay for itself,” Vasquez said. Not everybody is a fan, though.
CSPD
“I just wish we had a better way of tracking to see if we are losing money or if we’re actually making a lot of money,” said City Councilwoman Lynette Crow-Iverson. “That would be my biggest concern.”
Concerns About Targeting
Councilman Dave Donelson cast the lone vote against the program and explained why he remains skeptical.
“It will generate tickets on citizens who are probably not the prime ones we should be focused on,” Donelson said. “I’d rather it be out on those big streets where lots of aggressive driving is occurring rather than the street next to the park where somebody doesn’t realize they’re going ten miles over the speed limit.”
For now, we wait to see how safety statistics shake out in Colorado Springs. In the meantime, we’ve reached out to the police to find out more. We’ll update you here when they respond.