Questions slow speed camera plans

Santa Fe advisory committee wants to refine proposal before advancing it

A city advisory committee on Tuesday tapped the brakes on a proposal to bring back unmanned speed enforcement equipment to Santa Fe streets.

After police officers presented the city Public Safety Committee with a plan to again park SUVs equipped with radar and cameras alongside city streets, committee members said they want to see refinements before letting the idea advance.

The city dropped an automated speed-monitoring and ticketing system dubbed STOP three years ago after city councilors let a contract lapse with Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems. The decision came as the company’s top executive was prosecuted for bribery in other states. Also, the local program was unpopular with some Santa Fe drivers.

“This resolution is asking that it bring the STOP program the way it was without making any improvements,” said Councilor Chris Rivera, who is chairman of the Public Safety Committee. He said he was not happy with how the program operated before and would like some specific recommendations from the police department and councilors presented to the committee next month.

Committee members had questions about the criteria used in deciding where to place the SUVs, the cost to violators who receive citations and what speed would warrant a traffic ticket. Officers told the panel that policies that were in place under the previous contract could be changed at the direction of the city governing body, city manager and the police chief.

Rivera raised the issue of whether the $100 penalty paid by violators under the now lapsed program was appropriate. Currently, when an officer cites a driver for speeding, the penalty paid by a violator is $86 or $116, depending on how fast the motorist was traveling above the posted speed limit.

The councilor said a $100 fee would “hit the wallet hard” for residents of his district on Santa Fe’s southwest side.

The proposed resolution, co-sponsored by Councilors Signe Lindell, Ron Trujillo and Peter Ives, says Santa Fe has seen an increase in vehicle crashes in the past three years.

Officers said they have received requests from residents to step up speed enforcement in certain neighborhoods, but the department doesn’t have the manpower to do so routinely.

“When you saw those vans on the street, you didn’t see speeding,” Lt. Thomas Grundler said of the specially equipped SUVs that were used for five years before the program ended. “And if you did, we’d see you in a hearing.”

The city at one time deployed as many as three of the

unmanned vehicles, two of which were parked in school zones during morning and evening hours when school was in session.

The equipment is only permitted on city-owned streets and requires at least 150 feet of straight road for the camera to read speeds correctly. Also, roads must be wide enough to park an SUV without impeding vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

City officials said money generated from the city’s share of fines paid by violators was enough to cover the cost of hearing officers and partially fund the paychecks and benefits for three civilian employees and a police officer.

A fiscal impact report on the proposal to revive the program projects it would generate $400,000 in revenue during the fiscal year that begins July 1, more than enough to cover projected costs of $313,000.

The proposal is scheduled for review by other city advisory committees before the mayor and City Council would decide whether to seek bids for a contract to operate the program.