County Places Speed Cameras In Private School Zones

Speed cameras will be placed near Baltimore County private schools for the first time in the program's two year history.

The cameras on Smith Avenue near Bais Yaakov School in Pikesville and on Harford Road between Putty Hill and I-695 near St. Ursula School in Parkville are part of five new cameras announced late Friday by the Baltimore County Police Department.

"We're concerned about safety in school zones, period—whether they are in public or private school zones," said Elise Armacost, a police department spokeswoman.

In addition to the cameras near the private schools, the department plans to install cameras at three other locations:

• Winands Elementary - Scotts Level Road between Winands Road and Autrim Lane (both directions) in Randallstown.
• Loch Raven Academy - Goucher Boulevard between Putty Hill Avenue and LaSalle Road in Towson.
• Seven Oaks Elementary - Seven Courts Drive between Joppa Road and Proctor Lane in Perry Hall.

Armacost could not immediately provide information on how the locations for the new cameras, including the two in private school zones, were selected.

The five new cameras are scheduled to be installed over the next few days, according to a police department statement released late Friday afternoon.

The cameras will issue warnings for the first 30 days after they are activated to motorists who travel through the school zones at speeds in excess of 12 mph over the 25 mph speed limits.

After that, tickets with $40 fines will be issued.

Earlier this year the county with ACS State and Local Solutions that allowed for the expansion of the speed camera and red light camera programs. A year ago, the County Council removed the cap on the number of speed cameras that could be placed in the county.

The new contract requires ACS State and Local Solutions to engineer as many as 60 sites that could be used as future locations for the moveable cameras.

The county budget for the year beginning July 1 includes $4 million for the speed camera program—an increase of $1.8 million over the fiscal year 2012 budget, according to the county auditor's office.

ACS State and Local Solutions will be paid based on the number of citations issued.

The company is expected to be paid nearly $6.2 million for the initial five years of the contract and more than $9.1 million for the entire seven-year term.

The county expects the cameras to generate about $1.2 million in revenues between February 2012 and January 2013. The program is expected to cost about $1.1 million during that same time based on an estimate of 55,440 paid speed camera citations, according to the county auditor's office.

Last fall, the number of speed camera citations more than doubled between September and October after the police department relocated a number of cameras. One camera moved to South Rolling Road has accounted for 11,658 citations since October 2011.

In March, the total number of citations issued by all of the county's cameras totaled 6,914—about an 18 percent increase over the previous April.

The five new speed camera locations announced Friday brings the total number of speed cameras in the county to 22.

Other cameras are located in the following school zones:

• Middle River Middle School, 800 block of Middle River Road (both directions)
• Eastern Technical High School, 1100 block of Mace Avenue (both directions)
• Catonsville High School, 400 block of South Rolling Road (both directions)
• Arbutus Middle School, 1200 block of Sulphur Spring Road (eastbound)
• Woodlawn High School, 1700 block of Woodlawn Drive (southbound)
• Woodlawn Middle School/Woodmoor Elementary School, 3000 block of Essex Road (northbound)
• Milford Mill Academy, 3800 block of Washington Avenue (southbound)
• Wellwood International School, 2900 block of Smith Avenue (eastbound)
• Old Court Middle School, 4600 block of Old Court Road (eastbound)
• Rodgers Forge/Dumbarton Middle School, 200 block of Stevenson Lane (eastbound)
• Halstead Academy, 7500 block of Hillsway Road (southbound)
• Padonia Elementary School, 9800 block of Greenside Drive (northbound)
• Dulaney High School, 200 block of Padonia Road (southbound)
• Parkville High School, 2700 block of Putty Hill Avenue (eastbound)
• Dundalk Middle School/Dundalk Elementary School, 7000 block of Dunmanway (westbound)
• Perry Hall High School, 4600 block of Ebenezer Road (both directions)
• Johnnycake Elementary School, 5900 block of Craigmont Road (both directions)