MESA, AZ — They slow drivers down in a flash, whether drivers like them or not! Photo radar cameras are one of the tools police, like the Mesa Police Department, use to try to change driver behavior. This is a reminder that they are back to flashing for the lower school-zone speeds.
"I walk every day," said Tammie Mitchell, who moves through Mesa on foot while cars zoom by. "Two to three hours."
ABC15 chatted with Mitchell as she passed by Skyline High School.
"How do you feel walking around Mesa?" ABC15 Traffic Anchor Megan Thompson asked.
"I'm a little nervous, and I feel like I have to pay extra attention," Mitchell responded.
Mitchell explained how cars will often cut in front of her while she is in a crosswalk. She also says speed is definitely an issue.
"I think once the cameras are up, that makes people pay attention," Mitchell said.
It was back in May of last year that the city council took public comment before voting to keep the photo radar program around for at least five more years. Three people spoke out, and two were against it.
Here is what one woman had to say: "You've increased the budget for public safety. Real public safety would be accomplished if you took a couple of cops and varied the locations where speeding might be a problem and put them at various streets, and I think that if people see real cops giving out traffic violations on our streets, this would be a legal and fair deterrent."
But the Mesa Police Department stated they have seen a difference in safety. For school zones, the decision to add them was made in response to a public call.
The department also spoke at that May meeting. This is a portion of what they had to say: "Additionally, we're adding three new school districts, so bringing us... or school zones... bringing us from 6 to 9 and that's based on the community and what they're looking for... even what our officers are seeing when they go out to these schools and they're listening to complaints of the parents, of the students, of the school itself related to driving behaviors."
The report to the council said that is why they wanted to add to Highland Junior High School and Eastmark High. They did that in December of 2025.
All of the active intersections in 2024, in and out of school zones, generated nearly 50,000 citations.
Mitchell tells me she is hoping the cameras slow down drivers. She is a mom herself, and she is worried about the kids experiencing what she does every day.
"I feel like the kids are, you know, they're kids. They're invincible. Right? So, I don't think kids are really paying attention to the vehicles in this area. So, I think it's the job of the drivers to pay attention to the kids, you know, because kids will be kids," Mitchell said. "...So I think it's very important to have these cameras to kind of slow people down in high traffic areas of where the high schoolers are... or anyone for that matter."
Mesa Public Schools gave these tips to ABC15 to share with drivers:
- Please slow down and follow the speed limit
- Head up, phone down
- Don’t load/unload children across the street from the school
- Follow the crossing guard’s instructions and come to a complete stop when children are crossing
- Don’t pass a vehicle in the no passing zone. This zone is marked with no passing signs and is closer to the crosswalk.