Original story: NPR
Richmond, Virginia has installed speed cameras at Linwood Holton Elementary School to catch speeding drivers. Tara FitzPatrick, a traffic safety advocate for the nonprofit Greater Richmond Fit4Kids and a parent at the school, has mixed feelings about the cameras, preferring a complete street redesign to discourage speeding and protect pedestrians and bicyclists.
However, she acknowledges that such changes may not happen soon.
Speed cameras are becoming increasingly popular in cities across the United States as a way to combat traffic fatalities, which have risen sharply over the past decade. Prominent safety advocates, such as Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association, believe that speed cameras can change driver behavior.
However, critics argue that speed cameras can be a financial burden on those who are least able to pay, and that they are often used as a revenue generator for cities rather than a genuine safety measure. Jay Beeber, with the National Motorists Association, suggests that there are other ways to encourage drivers to slow down, such as speed feedback signs.
Despite concerns about the potential for automated enforcement to disproportionately impact people of color, safety advocates continue to push for their use as a neutral alternative to police stops.
