Visitors and residents of Annapolis will have to be a bit more careful than they already are when driving within school zones – any area within one-half mile of a school which encompasses most of the city – as speed cameras are coming to town.
The cameras would reportedly snap $40 photos of cars going more than 12 miles over the speed limit, but car owners may not be too keen on purchasing the pricey snaps.
Not that they’ll have much of a say in the matter. Well, the time for the say in the matter came and went at the most recent City Council meeting but apparently no citizens were present to address the measure. No worries though because Mayor Cohen has been quoted as saying he had a feeling once the first round of tickets makes their way to the alleged offenders there might be no end to the public comments.
In some respects the fines associated with the cameras are kind of a deal, since if a police officer stopped a driver exceeding the speed limit by 12 m.p.h. or more the fines usually run in the $90-$500 range. However, we realize this is admittedly a small comfort.
Maryland law allows speed cameras to be used in both school zones and construction areas but it seems Annapolis is only exploring the use of the cameras in school zones for now. More evidence is evident in the limited deployment (though we’re not sure it will seem that way) in that the police department requested only two or three cameras. Apparently the cameras will be mounted on trailers so they could be moved about into trouble spots on the fly.
One of the main reasons given for the move to cameras is given as public safety, but one alderman, Fred Parone has been quoted as saying that he thinks it’s intellectual dishonest calling it a public safety measure because of the amount of projected revenue from the mechanized enforcement procedures.
One speed camera company who has been reported as having an interest in doing business with the city on this project said estimated revenue could be as much as $4.5 million.
No word was given as to when the cameras might be up, running and taking those expensive photos but better safe than sorry. So on your way through town for business or pleasure, better take it down a notch.
But your favorite Annapolis restaurant or hotel reservation won’t be kept waiting forever will it? Be certain to leave an extra few minutes in the coming days in order to not incur a $40 surcharge, or move plans to accommodate this new wrinkle in your coming travel plans.
Leave A Comment