Plan for Speed Cameras Fails in Albany, Resulting in an Angry Mayor

NY TIMES

As it became clear that a proposal to place speed-tracking cameras on New York City’s streets would fail in Albany, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg let fly a charged and unusually personal attack against state lawmakers on Wednesday, blaming state senators, by name, for the future deaths of children killed by speeding cars.       

The next time that word of such a tragedy emerges, Mr. Bloomberg suggested at a news conference near Union Square, “why don’t you pick up the phone and call your state senator and ask why they allowed that child to be killed?”

He said his office would even provide contact information for certain senators: Dean G. Skelos, the Republican majority leader; Simcha Felder, who was elected as a Democrat but chose to caucus as a Republican; and Martin J. Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who has often been a crucial ally to the Bloomberg administration.

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Though speed cameras, long trumpeted by city officials as an important street safety tool, were initially included in a budget package in the State Assembly, they do not appear in the budget that is expected to be approved by the Legislature this week.

Some opponents of the cameras have called them a warrantless attempt to raise revenue for the city and have expressed doubts as to whether they reduce speeding.

Mr. Golden said on Wednesday that other areas with speed cameras around the country had found them “unreliable.”

Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s transportation commissioner, said on Wednesday that over 100 cities and states were already using cameras “and study after study has proved that they work.” The Transportation Department cited the example of Washington, D.C., where the police said last year that speeding at camera locations had fallen significantly since 2001, when the devices were first installed.

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A camera on New York Avenue in Washington. Traffic deaths are down 56 percent since cameras were installed there in 2001.

Amid consistent calls from advocates, who are often critical of New York City’s traffic enforcement, it appeared that momentum had begun to build in support of the policy, particularly after a spate of high-profile fatal crashes this year.

Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and a top Democratic candidate for mayor, pledged her support for speed cameras this month, as did Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner.

[NY TIMES, June 19,2012 :...Though similar programs have already been put into effect for red-light and bus-lane violations in the city, the bill could signal a sweeping shift for drivers accustomed to a city whose traffic laws can be hard to enforce, cutting against an ethos of getting from here to there as quickly as possible.

The proposal initially calls for as many as 40 cameras to be mounted high across the city, of which 20 can be rotated, ensuring that drivers are never certain when their speed is being tracked.

Only those who exceed the city’s speed limit, typically 30 miles per hour, by more than 10 miles per hour would be given tickets, receiving a $50 fine. For those who exceed the limit by more than 30 m.p.h., the fine doubles to $100. Drivers would not be docked points on their licenses.

Transportation advocates, as well as the city’s Transportation Department, have long lobbied for a speed-camera policy, but supporters say the bill has finally cleared a significant hurdle: gaining a Republican sponsor, Andrew J. Lanza of Staten Island, in the State Senate. ]  

But the plan has faced opposition from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, which, like Mr. Golden, has said that the more effective way to reduce speeding would be to hire more officers.

Mr. Golden suggested that the state revisit the use of cameras “if we can prove that the technology is sound, and document unequivocally that it will reduce speeding and fatalities.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Bloomberg appeared in no mood to wait.