Speed cameras will soon issue $100 citations to motorists who travel too fast through Chesapeake school zones.
In the next three months, the Chesapeake Police Department will install 10 cameras outside several public schools. Similar to red light cameras, speed cameras capture photos of vehicles traveling faster than the posted 25 mph through a school zone.
“The camera will record the license plate number by capturing a photo of the license plate. There will also be a corresponding video recording to confirm the data,” said Officer Mark Lawrence of the Chesapeake Police Department in an interview on Chesapeake Television’s YouTube channel.
A 30-day trail period in which warnings will be issued begins in April. After that, violators will receive $100 tickets in the mail.
Flashing signs already warn drivers to slow down in the vicinity of schools. But Lawrence said the department hopes the cameras will provide a secondary layer of enforcement when officers are not around to help lessen the chance that students, staff or crossing guards are struck by speeding vehicles.
“So many kids walk to and from school in these zones, and we just want to make sure they are safe,” he said. “We have had crossing guards and police officers struck by vehicles while directing traffic in these school zones.”
The cameras will be supplied and installed by Redflex Traffic Systems for about $37,000 apiece, according to Chesapeake police spokesman Officer Leo Kosinski.
To cover the total $370,000 cost of the cameras and installation, the police department entered an agreement with Reflex to pay the amount back with money collected from issued tickets. Aside from a monthly maintenance fee, all revenue generated by the fines after the full amount is paid back will help pay for other police programs such as body-worn cameras, training, safety equipment and community outreach programs, Kosinski said.
The Virginia General Assembly approved legislation in 2020 that allows state and local police to set up speed cameras at highway work sites and school crossing zones. Under that law, only motorists caught going at least 10 mph over the speed limit would be ticketed.
The cameras will be placed at Great Bridge Middle School; Southeastern Elementary; Rena B. Wright Primary; Sparrow Intermediate; the 500 block of N. George Washington Highway at Deep Creek Elementary, Middle and High schools; the 2600 block of Moses Grandy Trail at Hugo Owens Middle and Deep Creek Central schools; the 3000 block of Tyre Neck at Western Branch Intermediate, Primary, Middle and High schools; Southwestern Elementary; Greenbrier Middle School; and Greenbrier Christian Academy.
All 10 cameras are scheduled to be installed by the end of the 2021-22 school year.
The school zones equipped with speed cameras will be indicated by a flashing school zone sign, as well as signage indicating the speed limit is photo enforced.
The department opted to install the speed cameras after conducting a study that showed as many as 2,000 motorists speed through a single school zone despite the flashing lights and signage alerting drivers to reduce their speed.
Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
