School zone speed cameras bill stalls in Philadelphia council committee

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A bill to install temporary speed enforcement cameras in school zones has stalled in a Philadelphia City Council committee after members worried about constituent backlash, among other things.

The bill would have been part of a five-year pilot program testing the cameras at seven schools in the city. Cole Appelman, policy analyst of the city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, known as OTIS, testified at the hearing.

“The technology is proven to reduce speeding and reckless driving and the pilot will allow us to apply the safety tool to protect Philadelphia’s students as they travel to and from school,” Appelman said.

The pilot is designed to last for five years before being re-evaluated, as stipulated by PennDOT.

The seven schools selected for the pilot are Visitation BVM, John B Stetson Middle School, Kipp North Philadelphia Academy, Widener Memorial School, Northeast High School, High School of the Future and William L. Sayre High School. Each of these schools was selected after a thorough citywide analysis of crash trends and speed data.

The plan stirred some major backlash from members of the committee. The committee chair, Councilmember Jeffery Young, wondered if it was “nothing more than a cash grab,” asking whether other traffic-calming techniques, such as speed bumps, had been tried before going to speed cameras.

Young cited a lack of community engagement and concerns that people without school-aged children would be caught unaware of the pilot.

“I’m sure the folks around Northeast High School will want to be engaged about what’s happening in the community on Compton Avenue. That’s a street that is well-traveled by many people in this city,” he said.

Councilmember Kendra Brooks, another committee member, also was concerned about community members knowing about the cameras.

“People should slow down, but we all should give people fair warnings, and I don’t see that,” she said. “I think it impacts us in a different way when we have to put out fires when you know, we could have prevented it just for people having the information to know that this is happening.”

Brooks also questioned the placement of the cameras.

“Have [measures] been taken to ensure that the cameras and the ticketing process does not have inequitable outcomes?” she asked.

Officials responded that the schools were chosen based on having the highest risk for both speeding violations and crashes.

Councilmember Cindy Bass, of the 8th District, also touched on the issue of “Council Prerogative”, an unofficial practice in which the district councilmember is the only person able to introduce legislation that directly impacts their district when it comes to development.

The bill was authored by Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who holds an at-large seat on council.

“I want to really stress to the school district that this bill really should not have come from an at-large member. I don’t want to be critical of my colleagues, but I do want to be absolutely clear that when it comes to making these kinds of decisions, district council members are on the line. We’re on the line every single day,” Bass said. “People expect us to know and have the answers. I did not know about these plan changes in my district, yet I will be the one who will be held accountable for them.”

The legislation has been put on an indefinite hold, and it is not known at this point whether or not the measure is dead.