speeding suv speed camera
In an image provided by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, a white SUV is seen through the lens of a speed camera on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. The bureau said the vehicle was traveling at 72 mph, well in excess of the 40 mph speed limit.
(Portland Bureau of Transportation)
Correction appended
Portland's new speed cameras won't start issuing tickets until Saturday, but the city says they've already cut speeding by 93 percent.
The unmanned cameras, placed on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, were activated on Aug. 25, but they only issued warnings during a 30-day test period.
Even so, the city says the number of drivers speeding 51 mph or over on that stretch of road, where the speed limit is 40 mph, dropped from 1,417 a day to 93 a day after the cameras were turned on.
Starting Saturday, the city will start issuing speeding citations, starting at $160. Though the cameras are unmanned, police officers will review the photographic evidence collected by the cameras and sign any citation, which will be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.
The state Legislature approved the city's use of unmanned speeding cameras last year. The city could previously only use radar cameras for four hours at a time in the same location, and only under the supervision of a police officers.
The cameras between will be operated by the transportation arm of Xerox. The city will pay the company $3,195 a month per system, plus a fee for each citation payment collected. The cameras are expected to pay for themselves, and any addition revenue must be put toward roadway safety projects.
The city plans to install more speed cameras, starting in December on Southeast 122nd Avenue between Foster Road and Powell Boulevard; in February on Marine Drive; and in April on outer Southeast Division Street. Each is considered a high-crash corridor.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus
This post has been updated to reflect the following correction: The Portland Bureau of Transportation says speed cameras have reduced the number of drivers traveling 51 mph or over. Due to incorrect information from a source, the post originally overstated the drivers' speeds.