Cameras are soon being installed in Syracuse to spot and fine drivers who run red lights near…or speed through school zones. Common councilors agreed Monday to join a state program aimed at improving safety for children near schools.
We’ve all seen the signs telling us to reduce our speed to usually 20 miles per hour in a city school zone. Now, cameras will make sure you do. And Councilor-at-large Amir Gethers says they’ll be just as obvious as those signs.
“You have to post that there's an actual camera there. There would be a signage that's saying, hey, speed detected by radar camera, something like that," Gethers said. "And the camera is going to be there, you're going to see the camera. It's not going to be anything hidden.”
Gethers says the cameras are eventually going up in all 34 school zones, but they’ll start with the areas with the worst offenders. Red-light cameras will also be installed at three dozen intersections near schools. Gethers says technology is helping when police can’t.
“With the size of our traffic detail, they can only cover so many areas," Gethers said. "So with all the different members of the community, the district councilors always get direct hit from the community to say, hey, this is what's going on in my neighborhood, we need to tackle this right now.”
Gethers says there have been some instances of vehicle-pedestrian accidents in school zones. Those caught speeding or running red lights in school will get tickets in the mail. He says they’re still discussing the exact consequences.
“As of right now, it's a fine. With this particular situation, I think that we would look at like what many other cities have done with the registration suspension and things like that," Gethers said.
He says the cameras only track speeders or red light runners, and aren’t looking for other violations. Gethers says there’s a simple way to avoid getting caught.
“If you're not speeding in a school zone, you don't have to worry about getting a school zone speeding ticket,” Gethers said.
The cameras start going up by year’s end.
