San Francisco

San Francisco installing 33 speed cameras in effort to get drivers to slow down

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is starting to get the word out to drivers of where to slow down ahead of the speed cameras being installed and working by March

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San Francisco is set to become the first city in the state to launch a new network of speed cameras.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is starting to get the word out to drivers of where to slow down ahead of the 33 speed cameras being installed and working by March.

"We want everyone to know exactly where these cameras are, exactly how the program works," said Shannon Hake, Livable Streets program manager at SFMTA. "So they can change their behavior and just slow down. That's really what we want."

The SFMTA is also using a big billboard to give drivers a heads up about the changes.

One such location includes the freeway close to Cesar Chavez and Indiana streets. According to the SFMTA, drivers coming off the freeway tend to speed through the intersection.

San Francisco will be the first city in California to operate the new cameras, with five other cities including San Jose and Oakland implementing them later in the year.

The 33 speed cameras will be in neighborhood, some of them close to schools and in high-speed prone areas like the offramp at King Street where cars are transitioning from freeway speeds to city street speeds.

This comes as AB 645 became law last year, making California the 19th state in the country to allow speed cameras.

According to the New York City Department of Transportation, there's been a 94% decline in speeding where cameras are installed in the city.

Residents living where one of the city's cameras will be installed on Cesar Chavez near Folsom Street, are hoping drivers will slow down there too.

"Honestly, keeping an eye on driver safety should always be a priority," said David, a San Francisco resident who didn't provide his last name. "Because you don't want to accidentally crash into someone and cause a catastrophe. It's not a bad idea in my opinion."

According to the SFMTA, the cameras will be triggered by cars going more than 11 miles per hour over the posted speed limit and violations will not count as points against a person's driver's license.

"This is a civil penalty. It's not a moving violation. And the ticket is actually issued to the registered owner of the vehicle rather than the person driving," Hake said.

When the cameras go online in March, violators will get a warning for the first 60 days. After that, fines can go as high as $500.

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