PHOENIX — Phoenix’s controversial speed enforcement cameras have now been live for more than a month, and the city says they’re already catching thousands of speeding drivers.
According to Phoenix officials, nearly 7,900 citations were mailed out during the first month of enforcement from the city’s 17 speed cameras placed across Phoenix streets.
Before tickets started going out, drivers were given a 30-day warning period while the system was first rolled out. During that time, the city’s streets department says the cameras were triggered more than 70,000 times.
“I have never gotten a ticket in my life,” said Phoenix driver Tige Nagel. “But I did get a warning, it was in the first month when they just implemented the new cameras.”
Nagel said his warning came after he was caught driving 46 miles per hour in a 40-mile-per-hour zone. Along 7th Street, some business owners say they’ve already noticed changes in driver behavior.
Schreiner’s Fine Sausage sits near one of the city’s speed cameras. Owner Nancy Schiller says speeding has long been a concern in the area.
“As a matter of fact, we did have a wreck that took out this telephone pole, it hit our store, and it was because of speeding,” Schiller said.
Now, she says traffic appears calmer since the cameras were installed.
“Being on 7th Street, I can definitely tell you, definitely has slowed people down,” Schiller said. “It’s more manageable in traffic. People aren’t cutting in and out, flying by. They know that speed camera’s there, so they’re going to stop.”
Both Schiller and Nagel say they hope the cameras encourage safer driving habits beyond just the roads where the cameras are located.
“I see so many different things on the road every day that I’m like, never ever do what that car did ever again in your life,” Nagel said.
Still, the future of speed enforcement cameras in Arizona remains uncertain.
State lawmakers are considering a possible measure for Arizona’s November ballot that would allow voters to decide whether speed enforcement cameras should continue to be allowed statewide.