Baysiders Spar Over New Speed Cameras On Bell Boulevard

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A host of Baysiders raced to social media to express their outrage after several new speeding cameras were installed on Bell Boulevard this week — though not all saw eye-to-eye.

“Safety is always a concern, however this is not why they are putting these [cameras] up, it’s a money making machine!!!” commented one of many critical locals in response to news of a new speed camera at Bell Boulevard between 45 Drive and 46 Road. “You have to leave one hour early to get to where you need with all these cameras!!!!” they lamented.

Indeed, New York City’s vast network of speed cameras — which is expected to become the nation’s largest with the addition of 2,000 cameras by the end of 2021 — basically blankets the city, with cameras set up in 750 areas within a quarter-mile radius of a school, records show.

Since the speed camera program went into effect in 2014, as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, critics have accused the city of using the cameras as a revenue-generating scheme.

When a camera catches a driver going more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit — 25 MPH near most schools — the vehicle’s registered owner is mailed a $50 fine.

“It’s a scam to rip off people,” wrote one Baysider in response to a Facebook post about the new Bell Boulevard camera, echoing anti-speed camera activists’ sentiments — many of which were echoed in the post’s comments.

One Baysider argued that if the city was concerned about street safety they would put in more speed bumps and four-way-stops, and another questioned where the fine money goes; “Certainly not to the horrible roads in the city,” they quipped.

A third said that cameras, lights, and other street safety equipment “visually pollute[s] the environment.”

Several neighbors even suggested that speed cameras themselves are making streets more dangerous.

“The speed cameras are causing more accidents. People are looking at the speedometers when they're driving. I see this all the time,” one wrote.

Others disagreed with the speed limits to begin with.

One neighbor, who questioned why driving over the speed limit in a 25 MPH zone is breaking the law (“it never was this way before”), argued that drivers should be able to drive at least 35 MPH on all city streets.

“Why is 25 MPH the mark,” they questioned. “At 25 MPH I might as well put my truck in neutral and let it roll down Bell [Boulevard]. Nobody drives at 25 MPH on the dot and if you say you do you’re full of crap,” they wrote.

On the city’s part, the Mayor’s office has said in the past that lower speed limits are proven to decrease crashes and fatalities, noting that pedestrians who are hit by drivers going 30 MPH are twice as likely to be killed as pedestrians struck by drivers traveling at 25 MPH.

Similarly, in response to the backlash over the new cameras, some neighbors argued that speed limits and speed cameras kept streets safer.

“Don’t be speeding and there is nothing to worry about. This is a school area!” wrote one.

Another pointed out that an elementary school is around the corner from the new speed camera. “You can see PS 31 in the background!” they commented on the image of the camera.

De Blasio has acknowledged that the cameras are unpopular with drivers, but is still pushing state lawmakers to make the cameras operate 24/7 in order to cut down on another much-maligned phenomenon — drag racing, which is often a complaint of Baysiders.

Currently, speed cameras only operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. during weekdays, but 36 percent of all traffic deaths not on highways this year happened in camera-monitored areas when the cameras couldn’t issue tickets — on nights and weekends, officials said.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in speeding and speeding-related traffic fatalities in New York City," said State Sen. Brad Hoylman in a statement in support of his street safety legislation, which he is co-sponsoring with Bayside’s Assemblymember Nily Rozic.

"We need to be doing everything in our power to crack down on reckless motorists who speed, threatening the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers who share the streets,” he said.