The intersection of Santiam Road and Geary Street, seen last October.
The traffic cameras on Santiam Road in Albany produced 460 speeding tickets in June, making them by far the largest revenue producer of the city’s four sets of speed cameras.
On North Albany Road, meanwhile, the police department’s monthly open dashboard showed an unrealistic number of speeding citations because it included tickets that were issued when no speed violations took place.
I know this because I got a ticket for going 33 mph in he school zone on June 10 at a time when the posted speed was 40 mph. The recently installed flashing lights were not operating, meaning that the 20 mph school speed was not in effect.
The police told the Municipal Court about the mistake, and as a result the court dismissed 82 tickets issued that day, including mine. But since the tickets had been issued and mailed, the police included them in the monthly total of 111 North Albany Road speed tickets in June.
You can find the monthly photo enforcement dashboard on the police department’s traffic camera website here.
Back to Santiam Road, where the speed cameras at the Geary Street intersections generated 460 speed and five red-light violations in June.
The speed limit there is 25 mph. Tickets start at 36 mph, and the average speed for all 460 citations was 37 mph.
At $165 a ticket, drivers paid almost $76,000 for their mistakes on that road in one month.
Considering the average speed of so many drivers, and the cost of making a relatively minor mistake, a wise city council might look at what is being achieved here, other than aggravation.
Has there been a measurable effect in terms of traffic safety on Santiam Road? Has the number of collisions been reduced?
If no good effect can be identified on that thoroughfare, maybe it’s time to bump up the posted speed. (hh)
Or a wise anyone might wait to have more data before prematurely pulling the plug just because you don’t like to drive at the posted speed.
I live in the Southeast area of Albany and am not aware of the Geary/Santiam intersection behind Petco being noted as neither a high nor even low impact area for pedestrian or vehicular accidents, making it difficult to understand the “real” need for cameras in that specific area. Yes, there are residential areas bordering nearby, however, that specific area is also a fairly high commercially zoned business area as well.
Hasso writes a great story & someone says you don’t drive the posted speed…run-forrest-run…..oh my
I am curious to know much revenue the City receives from this roughly $76,000.
It should be at least 30 through there. But hey! Anything to make a buck!
Santiam is mainly a residential neighborhood where the cameras are installed at the Santiam and Geary intersection. Residential neighborhoods are mostly posted at 25 miles an hour. Why can’t people drive 25 miles an hour, rather than 37 miles an hour? Answer: Because they don’t want to, and that makes them spoiled a****.
Oh, how enlightened of you, epony.ME. Nothing screams “I’m better than everyone” quite like lecturing an entire neighborhood because drivers won’t obediently crawl at 25 mph and instead hit a scandalous 37. The sheer audacity of people who “don’t want to” go that slow — truly spoiled, right? Must be exhausting, perched up there on your high horse, measuring everyone else’s speed while clutching your moral superiority like it’s the last cookie on the plate. Wouldn’t it be interesting if you got caught by that very speed camera at the Santiam and Geary intersection someday? A little dose of your own medicine might do wonders for that superior attitude.
Newsflash: most folks have actual places to go. Maybe try loosening that iron grip on other people’s driving habits instead of broadcasting your outrage. Do you even know how to drive a vehicle?
Why, oh why, does Hering want to forgive and forget those who violate the traffic laws but he wants to tar and feather anyone who sprays grafti on bridge abutments? Seems more than a bit out of whack with respect for the law, don’t you think?
The speed limit should be 35! Just another revenue grab by the city-has nothing to do with safety which should be the only reason for cameras.
Vandalism is a waste of tax dollars and thus competes with our mayor/city council.
Hasso’s reply to hartman …..don’t be peevie….i know i spelled it wrong & i still don’t know what it means….just made me laugh..
65 years ago I got my first speeding ticket on that road – same limit. Most people drive at a speed they are comfortable with given the perceived risks. After that they check the posted limit. If you missed the first sign, it is easy go over. Probably time to up the limit a bit, if only for the section between Pacific and a few blocks past Geary.
Help me hh–do the cameras ticket in both direction? meaning travelling on Geary both direction and Santiam Rd both directions?
Only on Santiam, in both directions. Bu the stats don’t show in which direction a ticket was issued.
Questions:
– how much of this $76K goes to the city?
– where does the money collected go in the budget?
– if the driver does not pay what happens?