Yesterday, San Francisco became the first city in California to use speed cameras to create safer streets. Following state legislation passed in 2023, San Francisco and five other California cities can now use speed cameras. Malibu was added to the list last year. None of the other cities are even close to installing speed cameras, although Malibu and Oakland programs are expected to be underway by the end of the year.
For two months San Francisco will be giving out warnings to scofflaw drivers that are caught speeding on camera. Following that, tickets will range from $50 up to $500.
“No matter how you get around our city, you should be able to do it without fearing for your life. That is why I am proud that San Francisco is now the first city in California to implement automated speed cameras,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. For more on San Francisco's program, visit Streetsblog San Francisco.
In the other six cities, some camera program preparations are moving faster than others.
Oakland may be the next city to have speed cameras installed and monitoring their streets. The city already selected intersection locations last year, and the city “hopes” to have the cameras installed by the end of this year.
The city of Glendale is in the process of selecting nine locations for speed cameras and is asking residents and stakeholders for their opinions. You can fill out their survey here.
San Jose put out a similar survey last September. The survey has closed and there have been no other public statements about the program. Currently, the program is not funded in the city budget.
Malibu has been moving quicker than the cities that were authorized earlier. Just days after Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation allowing Malibu to install cameras, the city put out a request for proposals for cameras along the deadliest portions of the Pacific Coast Highway. Even with the devastation from the recent fires, the city hopes to have the cameras online by the end of the year.
Tied for last place right now are the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These cities have some early planning underway, but no apparent movement since December. Can advocates help light a fire under these Southern California camera programs?
While speed cameras are new to California, they are not exactly a new technology. New York has used speed cameras for years and the program has been a success. After the program was extended to be a 24-hour program, it was initially only running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., traffic crashes dropped by 30%. Back when the federal government used to track such data, it estimated that speed cameras could reduce crashes by up to 54%.
