The city of Hartford has approved a plan to install red-light and speed cameras in 11 locations within school zones in the city, which city officials say will help improve safety and deter speeding in those areas.
Hartford joins other towns and cities that have also approved red-light and speed enforcement cameras including Greenwich, Marlborough, Middletown, Milford, New Haven, Stratford, Washington and Wethersfield. Those plans have been approved by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Hartford is seeking approval from the DOT before the cameras can be installed.
“A lot of times when people talk about public safety in the city they are talking about cars that are speeding down roadways,” said Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. “I have heard from residents who have family members who have been hit by cars who are just going too fast. I have heard from residents who have lost family pets because of cars. It is an issue so many residents want us to address quickly.”
Arulampalam said that road safety has always been a concern in urban environments.
“It has been well documented that the amount of road safety incidents have risen sharply since COVID and when we talk about having a safe city and what public safety means in the city, road safety is a piece of that,” he said.
“While we have brought down the rate of assaults pretty substantially in the city, there are a number of people who have injuries, very serious injuries and life-threatening injuries (from car incidents). In fact, people died from road safety incidents just as my time as mayor. It is something that we take seriously as a city. This is one that will allow us to get to the root of these incidents which is reckless driving and speeding on city streets.”
The Hartford Police Department did not respond in time for this article on data concerning speeding and reckless driving in the city.
Council Majority Leader Marilyn Rossetti said installing the red-light speed cameras is all about safety.
“We hear from the community, particularly in school zones that safety is an issue,” she said. “Speeding is horrible. I drive to work every morning and I almost get hit at least four of the five days.”
She said she often sees people zipping through red lights.
The City Council this week unanimously approved the municipal plan for the cameras. The Department of Transportation approval process is a two-step process, with the statutory 60-day review period not beginning until the Office of State Traffic Administration confirms in writing that the Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Device plan contains all the required elements, according to CTDOT.
Josh Morgan, communications director for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, said in an email that the OSTA has not yet received a submission from Hartford.
Once approved by the DOT, the red-light speeding cameras will be installed in the following areas:
S.A.N.D. Elementary 1750 Main St.; Capital Prep 1304 Main St.; West Middle School 44 Niles St.; Parkville Community School 47 New Park Ave; Betances Elementary, 42 Charter Oak Ave; Alfred E Burr & Bulkeley High School, 400 Wethersfield Ave & 585 Wethersfield Ave; Jumoke Academy 339 Blue Hills Ave & 250 Blue Hills Ave; Achievement First ,305 Greenfield St; Milner Middle 150 Tower Ave; McDonough Middle School & Moylan School, 111 Hillside Ave & 101 Catherine St.; and E.B. Kennelly, 180 White St.
The mayor said the city was able to track traffic and speeding at various locations and the school zones listed were found to have a high number of speeding incidents.
State funding will support a study as a follow up to the pilot program on red light cameras, according to city officials. City officials say that the city will cover a startup fee as needed but the program will pay for itself.
According to a presentation to the Hartford Quality of Life & Public Safety Committee this past June, it is estimated to cost $60,000 upfront per camera system. The presentation also states that citations will be issued anytime the speed limit is exceeded by 10+ MPH.
Council Assistant Majority Leader Thomas Clarke II said the red-light and speed cameras are a long time coming.
“Pedestrian and vehicle incidents have taken place all over the city and with this being rolled out citywide and in school zones it is a good start to traffic calming citywide and making sure motor vehicles respect our neighborhoods and school zones,” he said.
He said he has noticed speeding a problem particularly in the Blue Hills neighborhood.
“There have been issues in areas where they don’t respect the crossing guards,” he said, referring to an incident in Blue Hills where a crossing guard was struck by a vehicle on Oct. 27.
“For many years our neighbors and school community have suffered from reckless driving and people not respecting the school community and not respecting neighborhoods and disrupting everyone’s quality of life,” he said. “The residents can look forward to experiencing a decrease with getting these violators to stop.”
Councilman Josh Michtom said he had concerns with the cameras at first, citing the NAACP and the ACLU who voiced privacy concerns.
“For people at a traffic stop, police can do a search warrant and other things that complicate people’s life and expose people to risk,” he said.
But then he later surmised that the red-light speed cameras would not get people in direct contact with the police and that it is a good way to reduce dangerous behavior with “the fewest collateral consequences.”
Morgan has said the DOT first saw the effectiveness of speed cameras when they were placed on highway work zones, as speeds dropped 20% when the devices were active.