Budget Question #15: Section 46.2-882.1 of the Code of Virginia allows the City to place photo speed monitoring devices in school crossing zones. Can you please provide the revenue impact and expenditure impact for the placement of 5 such cameras in school zones prioritized by Transportation & Environmental Services in alignment with the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan? (Mayor Wilson)

Response:

Early last year, the Alexandria Police Department (APD) conducted a pilot program to study whether this would be a feasible effort for the City and how it would affect the residents of the City related to Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE). This study was conducted at the 1700 block of North Beauregard Street for two hours per day from January 2, 2021 through January 14, 2021 and found that 65% of those vehicles were going above the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour. The highest recorded speed was 69 miles per hour. It is important to note that the intent of the pilot was to test the functionality of the technology, not speed compliance. The pilot was successful in accomplishing this objective and subsequently demonstrated that ASE cameras are capable of achieving their operational objective. If the City were to implement photo speed monitoring, it should be with the aim of improving traffic safety.

For order of magnitude, the City’s current red light camera program costs approximately $40,000 per month to include APD staffing costs and generates an average of approximately $40,000 per month in revenue, however the costs and potential revenue for school zones has not yet been determined. Potential costs would include the cost of the cameras themselves, contract fees for their administration, and signage and would vary depending on the level of service procured. It is worth noting that the goal of such a program would be to reduce or eliminate speeding in school zones and so the more successful the program, the less revenue it would generate.

If 5 photo speed monitoring devices were placed in school crossing zones prioritized by Transportation & Environmental Services, the estimated revenue impact would be $500,000 per year and the estimated expenditure impact would be approximately $490,000 per year. The revenue impact extrapolates and assumes a revenue performance equivalent to the City’s current red light camera program as well as a return to pre-pandemic levels. The estimated expenditure impact includes 2.00 FTEs to support the expansion of this program, additional estimated monthly RedFlex vendor costs of $25,000, and $5,000 per year in other associated operating costs.

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