City getting up to speed

Information being gathered on speed cameras

Traffic cameras could be going out on the streets of Lorain sometime soon.

The city of Lorain will consider at least two proposals for an automated traffic enforcement system that could deploy speed cameras around town. The city was seeking outlines from companies explaining the background and qualifications, along with details of a photo enforcement camera system, citations fulfillment, revenue, reporting and statistical analysis, system maintenance, security, and training and public awareness.

It was unclear exactly when city officials and the Lorain Police Department would adopt automated traffic systems.

Proposals were due July 12.

A team of staff will review the documents and could select a company to enter a contract with, said Matt Kusznir, neighborhood development specialist in the city’s Building, Housing and Planning Department.

But, city leaders reserve the right to reject any proposals.

“I know we’ve had a lot of complaints concerning speeding and reckless driving throughout the city,” said Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley. “And again, there’s been an uptick in violent crime in the city, and it’s hard for our police department to do traffic enforcement and also address the violent crime issues.

“We’re looking for ways to address the speeding and reckless driving without using our police resources to entirely enforce that particular area of the law. We do have two officers that are dedicated to traffic enforcement, but that’s certainly not enough.

“So, we thought if we could supplement that with some type of electronic devices that could assist in that, we thought that might be something that (Lorain City) Council might want to consider.”

In the last two years, City Council, the city administration and the Lorain Police Department have been slow to develop a plan for using automated traffic cameras.

In late summer 2019, then Safety-Service Director Dan Given confirmed a contractor installed traffic cameras to watch for speeding and red-light violations on East 28th Street and on Leavitt Road.

About a year later in September 2020, Council’s Police, Fire & Legislative Committee convened to discuss speed cameras.

There was no action except to refer draft legislation to the city Law Department for more analysis.

In December 2020, Council received an ordinance with draft rules for using the cameras.

Police Chief James McCann proffered a memorandum of support to Bradley and Safety-Service Director Sanford Washington.

McCann summarized the status of traffic enforcement in the city.

In 2020, the city administration, police and Council members received hundreds, maybe thousands of calls about speeding, red light violations and reckless drivers, he said.

Calls and emails “come in on a daily basis and are nonstop,” the chief said.

Traffic crashes increased year over year, especially in parts of the city where traffic enforcement is difficult due to the locations and volume, McCann said.

“This is unacceptable, and we must do a better job to reduce crashes, and we must look at technology to do this,” McCann said. “I personally don’t like the idea of automated traffic enforcement, but we have come to the conclusion that the technology must be used if we want to effectively reduce the number of crashes in specific areas of the city.

“I also feel that there should be strict policy guiding the placement of these devices and it must not be based on politics, but based on statistical data and the inability to safely conduct enforcement due to the location or volume of traffic.”

On Jan. 4, Council approved a resolution supporting further study of the issue. There has been no further Council action since then.

MORNING JOURNAL FILE A traffic camera keeps a watchful eye over traffic near the intersection of Leavitt Road and a driveway into Lighthouse Village shopping center in 2019.