Peninsula police issued 8,900 traffic tickets since April, says speeding reduced

Peninsula police officers using handheld speed cameras have issued 8,900 speeding citations since launching a program officials say is influencing people to drive slower.

Home of Cuyahoga Valley National Park along state Route 303 and near three major freeways, the Village of Peninsula tracks an average of 12,000 vehicles driving within its borders every day, said Trevor Elkins, program administrator and president of the camera company, Targeting and Solutions Ltd.

The 8,900 citations are entirely those mailed from violations approved by officers on motorists exceeding the speed limit by 11 mph in the past five months, Elkins said.

This has resulted in almost $666,600 in payments, he said. The village received about $400,000 while Targeting and Solutions Ltd. received roughly $266,000. The village's annual budget is about $1 million.

Traffic photo enforcement: Peninsula plans to start traffic photo enforcement program

"An excessively high percentage of auto accidents are a result of and contain an element related to speed," Elkins said. "Reduced speeds result in less severe accidents and fewer accidents in general as drivers are able to react more quickly to avoid them before they occur."

It is hard to quantify crashes that did not occur, but he said studies show slower speeds help prevent accidents.

"Our hope is that motorists eventually put this program out of business on their own by complying with the posted speed limits or at least something closer to the limit than 11 mph over," said Elkins, who was also mayor of Newburgh Heights for three terms starting in 2011.

In 2022, Elkins pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor campaign finance charges. As part of his plea bargain, he was barred from running for any Cuyahoga County elected office until 2028 while on probation for five yearrs, according to Beacon Journal partner News 5 Cleveland. This was changed to one-year probation, 30 days in jail and 200 hours of community service.

Elkins announced his intention to run for mayor of Newburgh Heights in May.

How the speeding program works

Police cruisers are parked at nine locations around the village limits where officers can use the handheld devices to track speeds and take photos of vehicles exceeding the speed by 11 mph or more.

This program, titled Photo Enforcement, began in late April. Peninsula Village Council approved the ordinance introduced by Mayor Daniel Schneider and Police Chief Jay Nagy in September 2022 that started the initiative.

Its goal was to "create a program of civil citation through use of officer-operated traffic law devices and enforcement" that "increases the safety of motorists and residents by reducing speeds and promoting safe driving," according to the ordinance.

Tickets are issued at different amounts for varying speeds. Vehicles traveling 19 mph or less over the speed limit can get a $150 ticket. It is $200 for 20 to 29 mph and $250 for 30 mph or more.

Citations are sent in the mail within 30 days of the violation to the registered owner of the vehicle. Tickets paid after 30 days but before 45 days will receive a $25 late fee. Those paid after 45 days will include an $80 late fee.

The fines do not affect licenses like regular police-issued tickets.

Some tickets can be referred to the Targeting and Solutions' collection agency using a P.O. Box in Beverly, Massachusetts, Elkins said.

Norton speed cameras: Norton nails 3,219 speeders on I-76 in 20 days

The village entered an agreement with the company when the September ordinance was approved. Targeting, which is also located in Cuyahoga Falls, provides traffic control program services for departments like Peninsula that lack the staffing to implement speed enforcement programs.

The agreement states Peninsula receives 60% of the money collected through the program while Targeting gets 40%.

Norton implemented a similar program in 2018, clocking 3,219 motorists driving above the speed limit in 20 days with one camera. The city ended the program the following year, when a construction project on Interstate 76 was completed.

At $200 a violation, the city mailed out $643,800 in civil fines in less than a month, the Akron Beacon Journal reported in 2018. The city used Blue Line Solutions, which received 40% of the fines collected.

Norton was both praised and vilified for the program, with supporters saying it helped improve safety on the highway and critics accusing the city of running a speed trap to raise revenue.

Are traffic cameras legal in Ohio?

Local authorities, including municipal corporations, counties and townships, can use traffic law photo-monitoring devices to detect and enforce traffic violations, but only if a police officer is present, according to the Ohio Revised Code.

Signs must also be posted informing drivers that such devices are in the area.

Once the handheld camera clocks a speeding violation, police must issue a citation within 30 days of the incident, according to state law.

The Ohio Revised Code requires the mailed citation to include a recorded image of the incident that includes the date and time, the license plate and the ticket alleging a violation sworn to or affirmed by an officer.

Ohio House Bill 23, the $13.5 billion transportation budget, initially included a provision that prohibited counties and townships from being able to operate traffic cameras for speeding and traffic light offenses, but the Senate removed this provision before passing the bill.

The Ohio Supreme Court in May 2022 unanimously upheld as constitutional a law that deducts state funding from municipalities that use traffic enforcement cameras, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The court found that the state can offset the money cities and villages raise from traffic camera tickets. Local governments must report to the state tax commissioner how much is collected from traffic camera tickets, which is deducted from their state funds.

Safety over revenue

Schneider acknowledged that this program would generate more revenue for the village, but he told the Akron Beacon Journal in March that the program was about safety, not money.

“We want the traffic to slow down,” he said. “I really feel this is more about safety than money.”

With a budget of roughly $1 million, and much of the village territory owned by the surrounding national park, the village has struggled with funding for years.

The village’s population was 536 in the 2020 census, slightly down from 565 in the 2010 census, with about 230 households and 15 small- to medium-sized businesses.

The village started charging for parking in August 2021, with up to 320 paid parking spaces that include both on-street and off-street parking using the PayByPhone app.

The village collects about $70,000 a year through paid parking and parking fines.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Peninsula issued 8,900 tickets since photo enforcement program began