The Pa. legislature should make speed cameras permanent

The Philadelphia Parking Authority plays a crucial role in making our city streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. We currently use automated camera technology that saves lives every day, reducing both speeding and red-light violations.

According to our internal analysis, our red-light camera program has reduced red-light running at key intersections by an average of 58% since the program’s inception in 2006. Combining high-visibility signs with added public awareness and fines that average $100, our automated speed camera enforcement program has reduced speeding along Roosevelt Boulevard by a staggering 95%.

According to the city’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, Roosevelt Boulevard has accounted for 14% of all crashes in the city and 62 fatalities from 2014 to 2017. Since the installation of speed cameras, Roosevelt Boulevard saw 27% fewer fatal and serious injury crashes compared with the rest of Philadelphia from 2019 to 2021, and 29% fewer speeding-related crashes compared with the city as a whole.

As an Inquirer editorial aptly noted, Roosevelt Boulevard was once known as the “Boulevard of Death” — but it no longer is, thanks in large part to our speed and red-light camera public safety operations.

Although our speed camera enforcement program is having a dramatic impact on public safety on Roosevelt Boulevard, it is set to legislatively expire in December unless the General Assembly acts to make it permanent. Currently, State Rep. Ed Neilson has sponsored legislation that would do just that, while also permitting the use of automated enforcement cameras to protect children on school buses and in designated school zones.

Realizing that the risk of pedestrian death reaches 90% when a vehicle travels above 58 miles per hour, our speed camera enforcement program will allow us to continue saving lives by reducing speeding along Roosevelt Boulevard. Expanding this program would also permit us to expand our complement of public safety tools aimed at changing dangerous motorist behavior, like speeding and running red lights at busy, concentrated intersections.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority’s other responsibilities include enforcement of safety and metered parking regulations in our numerous commercial districts, as well as our residential parking permitted neighborhoods. We also manage parking at Philadelphia International Airport and provide alternative, below-market-rate parking in seven Center City garages. We also handle a number of other public safety and neighborhood-based quality-of-life initiatives — all with noticeable and welcomed outcomes.

After receiving numerous complaints from local residents about vehicles with covered or missing license plates illegally parking on neighborhood streets, we began ticketing and towing these so-called “ghost” cars, which were trying to scam the system and avoid parking enforcement efforts, while at the same time inconveniencing other neighbors. We have already ticketed and towed over 150 of these vehicles since February of this year.

Partnering with the Philadelphia Police Department, we have towed over 350 unregistered or abandoned vehicles from neighborhood streets since December. We have also removed over 270 unsightly tractor trailers that had illegally parked in neighborhoods — taking up valuable parking spaces normally used by local residents. We have been working hand in hand with City Council to address these growing problems, which are impacting the daily quality of life in many of our neighborhoods.

As our cycling community continues to grow, we recently established a dedicated mobile bike lane enforcement unit to concentrate exclusively on patrolling and ticketing vehicles that illegally park and block bike lanes, which creates added dangers and risks for our cyclists. In May alone we issued 400 bike lane violations.

As we continue working with our transportation partners on both the city and state levels, automated speed enforcement cameras are critical to the success of our public safety push — and should be made a permanent part of Philadelphia’s roads. We urge members of the General Assembly to support the continuation of this vitally important and effective public safety program.

Rich Lazer is the executive director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.