Hampton plans to test speed cameras in school zones, target motorists who block intersections
HAMPTON — Motorists who speed through school zones in Hampton may soon find themselves with a $100 fine, as the city government plans to install speed cameras in these areas this fall.
City Manager Mary Bunting said Wednesday during a City Council work session that aggressive speeding is “at an all time high in our region.”
“We’re hearing complaints from residents asking that we do more to try to slow traffic down,” she said. “School zones are in particular an area of concern, because we have such young students and drivers and school buses all congregating at one time — either at the drop-off time or the departure time.”
Public Works Director Jason Mitchell said school zones are designated with a posted speed limit of 25 mph with flashing warning signs to indicate that children and pedestrians are actively crossing the city’s roadways. He said the Public Works Division wants to establish a year-long pilot program that would install speed cameras at 12 locations at the beginning of the next school year.
While the city has yet to determine the locations, Mitchell said they would be chosen based on data pertaining to speeding, accidents and traffic volumes. Before installing the cameras, Bunting said the council would need to pass an ordinance allowing the photo enforcement.
Mitchell said there would be a 30-day warning period after the speed cameras are installed at each location. After the warning is over, drivers caught going 10 mph or more over the posted speed limit will be fined up to $100.
A law enforcement officer will review and affirm all violations issued through technology, and a citation will be processed and mailed to the vehicle owner. Mitchell said the photo-enforced violations can be challenged and are subject to court procedures, as a Hampton General District Court Judge determines the final decision.
While the pilot program is slated to last a year, Bunting said if it is successful within the first few months, the city might want to expand the speed cameras to all 34 school zones in Hampton.
“If we find that it’s working the way we intended, i.e., it’s changing behavior, or slowing people down, or we’re getting a lot of tickets which say that a lot of people are speeding, which means we probably have a lot of people speeding in other places, and we want to change that behavior — we want to be able to start sooner,” she explained.
The Virginia General Assembly approved legislation in 2020 that allows state and local police to set up speed cameras at highway work sites and school crossing zones. Under that law, only motorists caught going at least 10 mph over the speed limit would be ticketed.
Numerous other cities in the region have already used speed cameras, including Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Norfolk.
Bunting plans to budget $3.4 million in the upcoming fiscal year to cover the cost of the pilot program and the possible expansion of the speed cameras in all 34 school zones. The program is expected to pay for itself, as the money collected from speeding would offset the cost of the cameras. Mitchell said there would be two cameras for every school zone.
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“Don’t block the box” cameras
The City Council also took action Wednesday to expand the use of traffic cameras in other ways. The council unanimously approved an ordinance allowing the city to install traffic cameras that would catch and ticket motorists who block major intersections. Some of the intersections to be targeted are along Settlers Landing Road and in Phoebus.
Last year, the council approved an ordinance allowing the city to install red light cameras. But Bunting said there was no existing legislation at the time to enable the city to use the same technology to ticket people who violate “Don’t block the box” signs and stop vehicles in the middle of an intersection.
The new ordinance would allow the city to install the cameras at “any intersection the city manager deems to be negatively impacted by traffic due to” the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion and express lanes project. Drivers will initially receive one warning, but subsequent violations will be subject to a $50 civil penalty.
The city’s ability to penalize people for “block the box” violations would only be in place until July 1, 2027, or whenever the HRBT expansion is completed, whichever is earlier. Bunting said while the “block the box” enforcement has a sunset date, the city would still be allowed to enforce red light violations beyond 2027.
Despite voting to allow red light cameras last year, Bunting said the city hasn’t started using them. She said the red light cameras will likely begin to go into effect in late May or early June. The first few red light cameras expected to go live include two on Mallory Street — one near Segar Street and one near the bridge — and one at the intersection of Settlers Landing Road and William R. Harvey Way.
Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com
