Speed camera locations “more art than science”
The County Council is poised to vote tonight on legislation that would enable the county to use speed cameras in up to 12 school zones around the county.
Police and traffic safety officials are still working on a list of potential locations. Some officials, including Police Chief Jim Johnson and Don Mohler, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith, are now giving indications that statistics won’t be the only factor that determines where the cameras are placed.
Earlier this year, Mohler was asked if the county would make an effort to place at least one of the cameras in each of the county’s seven council districts. Such arrangements are not unusual when the county starts a new program — Smith’s Renaissance Revitalization districts and the roll-out of Verizon’s FiOS are some examples.
Mohler said traffic statistics would rule the day when it came to placement of the cameras. The county was looking for the most dangerous school zones and geography would not be a factor.
Last week, before the council work session, Mohler signaled a change in course while discussing the development of a list for the six to 12 sites.
“It’s more art than science,” said Mohler, who acknowledged that geography would likely play a part in placement of some of the cameras.
Specifically, if statistics suggest that many of the school zones are clustered in one community, county officials could move down the list and place a camera in another area of the county that has statistically fewer speeding issues and is, by extension, statistically less dangerous.
A few hours later, Johnson, in an impromptu news conference outside the council conference room, took it a step further.
“Our goal is not just to change driver behavior in Dundalk or Parkville or Lansdowne,” Johnson said in response to a question about geographical disbursement of the cameras. “Our goal is to change driver behavior in Baltimore County. We’ll look at all areas of the county.”
What do you think? How do you think the county should decide on the locations for speed cameras should the council approved them tonight?