Traffic heads west on Santiam Road, past the speed camera at Geary Street, on the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2025.
Albany’s new traffic cameras on Santiam Road at Geary Street seem to be catching even more speed violations than the cameras in the school zone on North Albany Road.
At least that’s what the numbers show for September.
At my request, Police Chief Marcia Harnden last week sent me a report showing the first-quarter numbers of traffic citations based on the cameras on Santiam Road, on North Albany Road, and on Geary Street at Queen Avenue. The city’s fourth set of cameras, on Queen at Elm Street, did not result in tickets until Oct. 1.
Among the highlights:
On Santiam Road, citations for “speed on green” totaled 653 in September, the first month tickets were issued there.
On North Albany Road, in the school zone at Thornton Lake Drive, “speed on green” citations in September totaled 496.
At both intersections, tickets were roughly evenly divided between drivers going in each direction.
Red-light violations were far less common. There were only nine in September on Santiam Road, and only five on North Albany Road.
It is obvious that the lower the posted speed, the more speeding citations the cameras produce.
North Albany generated only 23 speeding tickets in July and only eight in August, two months when the posted speed was always 40 mph. As soon as the school year reduced the posted speed to 20 mph on weekdays, the number of tickets shot up more than 20 times.
Santiam Road, which produced the current monthly record for speeding tickets, is a popular commuter route because it bypasses the signals and peak-hour congestion of Pacific Boulevard and Lyon Street. But despite the signs, drivers may not realize that the speed limit is 25 mph, the same as in residential neighborhoods.
The cameras record violations if someone drives 11 mph faster than the posted limit. So anyone cruising through the green light on Santiam Road at 36 mph risks getting a ticket in the mail.
Red-light tickets were far less common than speeding at two of the camera locations, but at Queen and Geary red-light tickets outnumbered speeding. The biggest red-light total there was 48 tickets in July.
At the risk of making you dizzy, here’s one more number: 1,376. That’s the total number of speeding and red-light tickets the cameras at three intersections yielded over the first three months of the fiscal year.
I estimate that the first-quarter tickets cost Albany drivers more than $200,000 in fines. As for the actual number, I’ve requested the figures and am hoping for an official report. (hh)
This is the camera that watches westbound traffic on Santiam Road at Geary Street. It didn’t flash while I was there.
Good. Drive safely folks.
Your newsletter is as local as it gets and is relevant to me. Thanks for doing this, Hasso!
For me, the camera warnings are a good reminder to pay attention to my speed. For those who are cited, well, certainly the city can use the extra revenue.
I mentioned to you in the recent past that I observe the speed limits, and cars pass me in a huff, as if to say, “Get off the road, old person.” In fact, when you first let us know that Santiam and Geary intersection was slated to get the cameras, I mentioned that no one driving near there, it seems, except me, obeys the speed limit. So, I’m not surprised at the number of tickets that have been issued.
Can I get one of these in front of my house?
you can have your own from amazon no less https://www.amazon.com/Radar-Speed-Photo-Enforcement-Camera/dp/B071JSX8GM
And another $200k in increased insurance premiums!
from you maybe, but i learned a long time ago that i dont like paying tickets so i changed my behavior
Please don’t take people out of law enforcement Albany. Cameras are not a replacement for highly trained law-enforcement officers; police need to get back to the traffic enforcement business. Hasso, please check into how many tickets were issued by actual law-enforcement officers during the same time for traffic infractions; I suspect the results will be eye-opening. And think this through, do really wanna live in a world where everything we do is on camera and we get tickets automatically in the mail for infractions? How far could this idea go?
if your not speeding you have nothing to worry about.
also it cost tax payers over $200 an hour for a cop to be “on the street” with a cam doing the same job for much less leaving an officer free to respond to “a stranger knocked on my door” calls
So as a street weary, retired paramedic/FF, I see at least one metric glaringly omitted from this data.
1. What was the average speed on these streets before and after these cameras were installed?
2. How many accidents, injuries, and fatalities before and after?
Many people believe that fatal, or life changing traffic incidents only happen on highways. Truth is, intersection collisions and auto-pedestrian encounters are often fatal.
This is a great article, and fills in some blanks, but what are the causes and effects of these cameras (besides revenue)? Are they working? Are they saving lives?
For some reason, in this community, the EMS professionals do not seem to be involved in these discussions.
Talk to the paramedics, they know what’s going on.
I’m a statistician & data person, and had to wipe away a tear of joy. You’re asking questions everyone should.
What gorgeous foliage! It seems to make the rest of the pictures irrelevant. Thank you, Hasso.
I was sent a ticket for going 37 mph in the 25mph at Santiam and Geary last mo.. The ticket was $165 or you could go to court . I decided to go to court because of the extenuating circumstances . My husband was in the ICU at the Corvallis hospital . I had just gotten a call from the Dr saying he had a stroke and was unresponsive . I admittedly was going 12 miles over the limit , but I wanted to be by my husband’s side , and I think most ppl in the same situation would’ve done the same thing I was doing . After I explained my situation to the judge , she said “that sounds like a bad day”. I told her “it was awful” ! She told me that “in Oregon there are no circumstances under which you can break the law and you were breaking the law by speeding … except maybe if you’re bleeding to death . In which case I hope you’d call an ambulance . I’ll reduce your ticket to $150 … how would you like to pay that ?” I had no words … I probably would’ve ended up in an orange jumpsuit ! I moved over to the clerk and paid my fine .
Not everything is black and white . I was going 1 mi over the “safe” limit . While I admit my guilt … sadly , there were reasons for that . Compassion goes a long ways … it’s right up there with kindness , empathy and respect . And , to get respect … you have to give it . I hope the judge never finds herself in a similar situation to the one I was in .
Alternatively, drive on a road that has a higher speed limit like Pacific Hwy and then you speed even more and be “safe”!
Why didn’t I think of that ? Thank you for your compassion !
The Judge didn’t have to reduce your ticket you know. You want compassion. You want understanding. But you offer ZERO in return.
And FYI – I understand that you wanted to be by your husband’s side, but two things: 1) even had you done 100mph, you would NOT have been allowed into ICU until he was stabilized. 2) How would getting into a accident have served your husband?
Yes , I’m aware the judge didn’t have to reduce my ticket , and , where did I say I wanted my ticket reduced… you’re making assumptions ! That wasn’t my point … compassion was my point … I was addressing her cold attitude . It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do … you should be treating people the way that you’d like to be treated . Simple as that ! And , how exactly did you come to your conclusion on how I treated her with zero ? Not sure how you decided that was the case . All I asked for was the opportunity to explain to her why it happened .
And , FYI … I was allowed in the ICU , you know nothing about the situation, and , until you actually know the story and the facts , once again , you shouldn’t make assumptions . You’re right , obviously it wouldn’t have served my husband well had I been in an accident . I hope you’re never in a situation where you have to make a decision to go 12 mi over the speed limit . If I would’ve been going 11 mi over the limit , I never would’ve been ticketed and I wouldn’t be writing this … that’s 1 mile over . One mile !
Kathy, that is actually 12 miles over. The speed LIMIT is 25mph. The camera gives a 10mph grace, which is actually a lot. Most are only 5mph grace. Sorry for your situation, I have been there, but the hairs you are splitting have already been split. (I live on the street in question and I am SO happy they installed the cameras!)
Kathy, I get that you wanted to be by your Husbands side, I would have been speeding as well in your situation, but that does not change the fact that you were speeding. Speeding is your wish to be next to your Husbands side, paying the fine is the price, ask yourself, if you knew you would get a ticket, would you still speed? Of course you would because of the importance your Husband is to you, sometimes the penalty is simply worth it.
I am SO HAPPY they installed these cameras. I have lived on this street for 12 years and the speeding gets worse every year. One person actually jumped the curb and took out a tree last year. The kids treat it as a mini raceway, seeing how fast they get get their hoopty’s up to, between Main & Geary. Pets and other animals have been killed, I’ve been nearly hit and there are kids in the neighborhood, and they don’t always look both ways when crossing the street. Also, the old church that was moved will be a community center soon and people will really need to slow down once that becomes an active place.
The retired paramedic makes a valid point. These are money grubbing cameras which do not enhance safety but feed the bureaucracy which slowly but surely is running out of money. As somebody who has lived in this state since 1949 and watched the roads deteriorate, the schools head to the bottom of state rankings, etc., I’m moving which will make Hartman and his ilk happy. All my grandchildren have already left for low tax states.
if you not breaking the law you will not be paying any tickets. hope you can see the connection, as i sure find it funny the people who are upset over “money grubbing cameras” are the speeders
Kathy is a kind person and I am quite sure that she did not drive recklessly although above the speed limit. Speed guidelines are in place to keep people who drive recklessly regardless of their speed to reduce the chances of accidents. If a police officer would have pulled her over he would have realized she was not endangering other people and unlikely would have not even given her a warning.. Police drive faster than the limit all the time in cases of emergencies without causing accidents. Common sense is needed in dealing with unforeseen events. Punishing Kathy was not needed to make her more aware of the consequences of bad or dangerous behavior. If I were a policeman I would have escorted her to the hospital.