(Cleveland)- The City of Cleveland is looking at utilizing a new state law that will allow the use of traffic monitoring cameras in school zones to help reduce the number of speeding violations and make the area safer for students.
Cleveland Police Chief John Foster presented the results of a recent traffic study to the city council at Monday’s meeting. The speed study was conducted in front of Jack P. Nix Elementary School, where during school zone traffic hours the speed limit is 25 mph, and Foster said the results were eye-opening.
The study was conducted by RedSpeed Georgia and Chief Foster said the one day study counted a total of 8,800 vehicles that traveled the road between the hours of 6 AM and 4 PM. From that total, just over 800 speeding violations occurred. Foster said if they do agree to work with RedSpeed for the monitoring service there would be no cost to the city to set the system up, RedSpeed will take a percent of the fines assessed.
Also if the service is put into place the chief said they will ticket only the more serious violators, those exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 miles per hour. ” It is serious and it is meant to get peoples attention and there will be signs that will be put up, there will be camera’s on poles on each side of the school zone, ” said Foster ” there will be flashing lights there will be signs saying their speed is being checked by camera so not a surprise, it’s not I Gotha kind of thing it’s to get your attention and slow down.”
The city council requested that Foster obtain some additional information about the services provided by RedSpeed before they decide the direction they will take.
