OPINION:
The District is finally feeling some pushback over its increasingly obnoxious speed camera enterprise. Dozens of the freshly installed robotic revenue raisers have been popping up all over town, and residents are starting to realize their positioning has more to do with “gotcha” than safety.
Restauranteur Geoff Tracy, owner of Chef Geoff’s, was so appalled at the tricky Foxhall Road camera trap that he hired someone to stand near it and warn fellow motorists of the imminent danger to their wallet. Rev. William H. Bennett, who is running a primary campaign for a city council seat, called a press conference to blast the camera positioned at the bottom of a downhill slope on Branch Ave. in Southeast.
Ann Wog, producer of the Andy Parks “Live from The Washington Times” radio show, found herself faced with $875 worth of tickets before she even knew an automated ticketing machine had been installed on Porter Street, part of her daily route to work. D.C. routinely has its contractor send warning notices from newly installed cameras, ostensibly to put residents on notice that they need to slow down in those areas.
Ms. Wog’s automobile allegedly hurtled past the camera on the empty road at 41 mph on Dec. 13, during the warning period. Her “warning” notice wasn’t postmarked until Jan. 10. “By leaving almost a month between a warning being issued and that warning being mailed out, I was racking up active tickets without knowing it.” She keeps checking her mailbox, as more $125 citations could be on the way.
That’s just fine for the District and American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the for-profit private contractor that owns and operates the speed cameras. The use of underhanded tricks demonstrates beyond doubt that that their sole motivation is generating as many violations as possible.
Workers for ATS were out Thursday setting up a new installation on the Anacostia Freeway in Southeast near the exit for Burroughs Ave. and Minnesota Ave. One of the company’s new, low-profile photo radar systems disguised to look like an ordinary utility box was placed directly behind a pedestrian overpass. It is impossible to see from any angle until one has passed the device.
The speed limit on this four-lane, limited access, divided highway is an unrealistically low 45 mph. The District ignores the decades of traffic engineering research that have concluded the safest speed is determined by measuring how fast 85 percent of traffic is moving in safety. Ignoring the science and arbitrarily setting an ultra-low limit on a freeway creates a cash cow.
Expect this Anacostia Freeway location to become one of the biggest moneymakers for the District and its Arizona-based partner in crime. Until enough residents translate their anger at the city council’s greed into action at the ballot box, this shakedown is going to continue. One can only hope more candidates will come forward and pledge to reverse the status quo.
The Washington Times
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