Richmond issues $200K in fines, 14,000 citations from school speed cameras
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Richmond has issued nearly $200,000 in fines and around 14,000 citations since turning on speed cameras near two elementary schools in March.
Why it matters: These cameras are operational for only four hours a day around the start and end of school, "so imagine what people are doing outside of those times," Mayor Stoney said this week.
Driving the news: In a Wednesday press conference, Stoney said the four speed cameras near Northside's Linwood Holton and Forest Hill's Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts are issuing a total of 70-plus tickets a day.
- That's down from the average of 176 daily speeding tickets RPD said it issued in those zones in April and similar to the average of 76 per day noted in a July crime briefing.
Catch up quick: The city first added speed cameras near Linwood Holton and Patrick Henry as part of a pilot program to make streets safer.
- Then speed enforcement cameras went live in August around nine more school zones, largely in South Richmond and mostly near elementary and middle schools.
- Huguenot is the only RPS high school to have cameras as of September.
- But the plan is to eventually install cameras around Thomas Jefferson and Richmond High School for the Arts (formerly George Wythe), too.
How it works: The cameras operate between 7:15-9:15am and 2:15-4:15pm and flag drivers going 11 miles or more over the speed limit (so at least 36mph).
- The first violation is $50. After that, it's $100.
By the numbers: So far this year, Richmond has had 412 total speed-related crashes, per an Axios analysis of data mapped by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
- In 2023, it had almost 900 — which is lower than recent years but similar to 2019's figures.
What we're watching: State lawmakers approved the use of speed cameras in Virginia in 2020, but limited their use to highway work zones and school crossing zones.
- Richmond's Del. Mike Jones proposed a bill this year allowing localities to add speed cameras wherever they're "deemed necessary" but it was tabled until next year.
What's next: The cameras added in August will begin fining drivers on Sept. 18, when the 30-day grace period of issuing only warnings is over.
Go deeper: 5 Richmond traffic projects to watch