Falls Church's First School Zone Speed Camera Heads To Final Approval

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Speed cameras could soon make their way to a school zone in Falls Church, pending final approval.

On Monday, Falls Church City Council granted first reading to the city's speed camera ordinance, which would allow photo enforcement of speed violations in active school zones. The first proposed location is the 800 block of W. Broad Street, which is near St. James Catholic School. A public hearing and final approval are scheduled for Sept. 26.

"It is a camera that will be phased in both eastbound and westbound to capture speeding during the morning hours when children are being dropped off at the school and then again when they're being picked up at the school. So it won't be throughout the whole day," Police Chief Mary Gavin told City Council Monday.

Local speed camera ordinances in school zones and highway work zones are allowed under Virginia legislation passed in 2020. If a vehicle is speeding 10 or more miles above the posted school zone speed limit, a fine up to $100 can be issued but not points to a driver's record, according to the state legislation. Some Northern Virginia localities have already launched speed camera programs or plan to. Potential violations recorded by the cameras would need to be reviewed by police officers before a citation is mailed to the vehicle owner.

St. James Catholic School and the 800 block of W. Broad Street were chosen for the speed camera program because the school is within 750 feet within a school crossing zone as required by the state law, the police chief said. For now, other locations for speed cameras are not suitable for the city to use.

"Most of the schools that we have here in the city, we either stopped completely the main thoroughfare during drop off and pickup, and so that's not a viable option for us to enforce anything around Oak Street [Elementary], Mount Daniel [Elementary], and with the construction right there on Haycock [Road]," said Gavin.

The police chief said that speed cameras would be the third phase of the city's photo enforcement program. The city already has red light cameras at the Broad and Cherry Street intersection and the Broad Street and Annandale Road intersection as well as school bus stop enforcement.

As required by the Virginia law, speed camera programs must have a 30-day warning period before citations are issued. Gavin said there will be a three-month campaign of informing the public about the program, including a warning period of 30 or 60 days.

There was discussion about whether the speed camera program could be used around preschools. City Attorney Sally Gillette noted VDOT's standard covers K-12 schools but not preschools.

Vice Mayor Letty Hardi suggested finding a way for the ordinance to include preschools in areas with speeding concerns, such as East Broad Street and Hillwood Avenue. But Mayor David Tarter and Councilmember Dave Snyder were hesitant to put anything in the ordinance that could potentially extend beyond the authority the state law grants, per the Dillon Rule.

Snyder said the city's legislative requests to the state should make the case that preschools be included in speed camera ordinances.

Gavin agreed that using the narrow definition of schools is a safer bet for following the state law.

"I think starting small, getting this to a place where we can figure out what is the battle rhythm and the best practices is the best thing for the community and for the reputation of the program," said Gavin. "But we will we'll look into what the preschool options are now and what they're doing and other communities."

Hardi agreed to "put a pin" in the inclusion of preschools.

"I think clearly based on the data that we heard in public comment, these are effective at deterring bad behavior," said Hardi. "So I think there's a desire from our community to do more. So I like the idea of adding it to our legislative program and continue to explore whether we can maximize the authority we have here."

SEE ALSO: Falls Church Police Chief Mary Gavin To Retire In Early 2024