Multiple cameras are now watching Syracuse drivers, especially those who speed, pass school buses, and run red lights in and around school zones. After nearly three months of consideration, Common Councilors approved the speed and red-light cameras this week.
“We're the first city in New York State to have all three, and we're implementing all three in this year,” said Connor Muldoon, the city’s Chief Operating Officer. “So it's a very significant change to what residents and drivers should be expecting.”
The city has doubled the standard warning period to 60 days to give drivers more time to change any bad habits before tickets are issued to speeders or red-light violators.
“I fully expect that many homes and households will get a warning in this period,” Muldoon said. “We wanted to ensure that residents are aware of these programs and what the expectations are for changing their behavior behind the wheel. We want residents to read that piece of mail and say, ‘oh, I made a mistake and I need to be more cautious when I'm behind the wheel, particularly around schools.’”
The city rolled out its bus stop arm cameras in May, and tickets are being issued to those violators. Now, new pole-mounted cameras are watching for red-light violators and speeders by running their license plates. The city hired a traffic technology firm called Jenoptik to install, own, operate, and maintain the cameras. Drivers may have seen the “photo enforced” signs posted with the school speed limit.
Syracuse Program Manager for Jenoptik Jeff Nielsen said his company is monitoring areas that might be tagging too many drivers.
“At that 21 to 30 day mark, we can start looking at where the problem area is,” he said. “Oh, a side street comes up to this and there's no signage. It's all about the safety.”
Jenoptik has installed some cameras in each quadrant of the city so far, with plans to set up the state-allowed maximum of 34 by later this fall. The city’s contract with Jenoptik states all data collected by the cameras is owned by the city, and the company doesn’t see any of it. If there’s no violation, the information is immediately deleted.
The city’s Connor Muldoon said some locations in the city have multiple cameras, including part of Eastwood.
“James Street is one of them where there are a number of schools and we know that there are a number of violations that occur on that corridor,” Muldoon said.
“So there's a chance there that you could run the red light and get a speeding ticket,” Councilor Jimmy Monto said. “I mean, that's probably what we need right there because it's pretty bad.”
"I think so," Muldoon said.
Once the warning period is over, drivers receive the violations by mail. State law treats automated enforcement violations much like a parking ticket. The maximum fine is $50, and they don’t count against a driver’s license. The city is reviewing whether drivers who accrue numerous violations can temporarily lose their vehicle registration.
