Youngstown council considers speed cameras in school zones

YOUNGSTOWN — City council members received a proposal from Blue Line Solutions to put cameras in school zones to prevent speeding.

Youngstown Police Department Lt. Bill Ross, during Thursday's safety committee meeting, said though officers monitored school zones, the department didn't notice a difference in speeding when the zones were being watched versus when they weren't.

Thomas Switick, regional sales manager for Blue Line Solutions, said the company monitored Youngstown school zones 24 hours a day for seven days.

Switick presented the number of cars driving and speeding through school zones in the morning and afternoon during times students are coming and going from school.

The violations reported were for people going at least 11 miles per hour over the speed limit in the school zone in each ward. The data did not include weekend times or other times of the school day.

Overall, Blue Line Solutions reported 188,805 cars drove through school zones in the city during that time period and 40,274 violations were reported, or 21.33 percent.

Switick said the numbers show a significant problem in the city and that YPD has done what they can to enforce the area.

“In my experience, those numbers are not something you can monitor with a police officer everyday,” Switick said, noting that there are not enough officers to enforce it.

Cameras would allow the police department to focus officers elsewhere, Ross said.

Councilwoman Lauren McNally, 5th ward, said she was aware of the speeding problem in school zones but did not realize how bad it was.

“To see it on paper like that, it’s disgusting,” McNally said.

She said she was glad the police department is being proactive in trying to solve the problem. When she picks up her kids from school, McNally said she is scared of being in the line of cars waiting to pick them up.

“I can’t imagine how kids feel trying to walk out to the cars," McNally said.

If city council accepts the proposal, Blue Line Solutions will inform residents through social media, handouts, emails, water bills and news organizations to let people know when the program is coming and why.

“We don't want people to be surprised,” Switick said.

In other communities that use Blue Line Solutions, violations were reduced on average by 50 percent just by educating residents on the program and about 75 percent in violations on average overall when the program is fully implemented, Switick said.

Blue Line Solutions would put up three signs to warn drivers they are approaching a school zone, urging them to slow down. If a car fails to slow down, a camera will record their speed and license plate. The driver will be mailed a citation.

There are no upfront costs to the city, and maintenance for equipment and office costs would be paid through ticket revenue.

The new revenue split between the city and Blue Line Solutions would be determined by the contract city council creates with the agency. City council would also determine how many school zones would use Blue Line Solutions.

Youngstown partnered with Optotraffic in 2015, according to The Vindicator. The city received 65 percent of the fee revenue and Optotraffic received the remaining 35 percent.

From January 2016 to December 2018, the city generated $3,075,604 from the speed camera program. The funds that Youngstown police generated from it had to be used for police equipment per city ordinance; it couldn’t be used for officer salaries or pay increases.

Liberty, Girard, Howland and Weathersfield have contracted with Blue Line Solutions, which reimburses those communities for the regular or overtime hours their part-time or full-time officers operate the speed cameras, according to The Vindicator.

Litigation filed in 2018 against the city of Girard and Blue Line Solutions contested the speed limit along a portion of Interstate 80 between Dec. 7, 2017, and Jan. 8, 2018, The Vindicator reported. The city enforced the temporary reduced speed limit, and the attorney contended people who were driving at the normal speed limit were wrongfully issued citations.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Youngstown council considers speed cameras in school zones."