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A speed camera is installed in front of the Brooklyn Museum — Brooklynian

A speed camera is installed in front of the Brooklyn Museum

whynot_31
whynot_31
edited August 2015 in Prospect Heights
image


"Following legislation passed in Albany that allows New York City to erect 120 new speed cameras (up from a mere 20), the revenue-generating devices have been springing up all over the city, including many mobile ones designed to prevent drivers’ awareness of their existence.

The latest speed trap was erected this weekend on Eastern Parkway in front of the Brooklyn Museum. It was likely designated to be a prime spot for revenue generation after careful study by the city, as it is located on the bottom of a steep hill on a fast-moving multi-lane parkway – whose speed limit was recently lowered to a mere 25 miles per hour – the same limit as the small one-lane residential streets nearby.

As a result of its unintuitively low speed limit, Eastern Parkway has become a prime spot for the city’s very lucrative crackdown on ‘speeders,’ which has netted the city more than $20 million of revenue in 2014 alone (with only half of the approved 120 cameras in operation)."

photo and text: http://crownheights.info/crown-heights-news/498171/psa-new-speed-camera-on-eastern-parkway/

Comments

  • mantic
    mantic
    I noticed one on Atlantic, bet Nostrand and New York Eastbound...
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2015
    I doubt they will actually be set to ticket cars that merely exceed 25 mph.

    For a variety of reasons, I suspect they will be set around 35.

    ...the devices should have plenty to do at > 35.
  • mugofmead111
    mugofmead111
    More, more, more!

    Another good place for a speed camera would be at Ocean and Flatbush, pointed at southbound traffic.
  • goldemi1
    goldemi1
    while a speed cam is definitely needed on this stretch (much of EP really), 25 is nuts!  35 makes sense.  seems cars regularly take it up to 50, and hopefully these cams are able to nab motorcycles.  even better if they have technology to detect wheelie-popping bikes. :)
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2015
    Most motorcycles have plates, and the OCR technology used by the speed cameras is good enough to identify them.

    However, many of the wheeling-popping bikes (ie dirt bikes and ATVs) don't have license plates. So, speed cameras are ineffective against them because the devices need a license plate to issue the owner a ticket.

    There are already a bunch of red light cameras around as well.

  • pheightsresident
    pheightsresident
    I doubt they will actually be set to ticket cars that exceed 25 mph.

    For a variety of reasons, I suspect they will be set around 35.

    ...the devices should have plenty to do at > 35.
    I hope you're right. 
  • ehgee
    ehgee
    The law requires the cameras be set to ticket >10mph over the speed limit.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Indeed. They also can only ticket on school days.

    "How does NYC’s speed camera program work?
    NYC’s speed camera program uses the same radar and laser technology relied upon by law enforcement to measure a vehicle’s speed. If the radar finds that the vehicle is exceeding the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour, images of the vehicle are recorded along with an image of the license plate. The violation is reviewed by a trained DOT staff technician for accuracy. If the technician verifies that the identified vehicle was exceeding the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour, within a school speed zone on (1) school days during school hours and one hour before and one hour after the school day; or (2) a period during student activities at the school and up to 30 minutes immediately before and up to 30 minutes immediately after such school activities, he or she will issue a Notice of Liability."

    http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2014-10-speed-camera-faq.pdf
  • southeast
    southeast
    Curious, why are cameras limited to school speed zones?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2015
    "By state law, cameras only operate near schools on school days during school hours."

    http://project.wnyc.org/speed-cameras/

    https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-establish-pilot-program-speed-cameras-school-zones-new-york

    So, the short answer is "Albany", or -if you prefer- "Cuomo".
  • southeast
    southeast
    The question remains as to why... but I'll take your short answer, which by definition provides that it simply doesn't have to make sense.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    My worldview causes me to believe that NYC wanted speed cameras that could be used more often, but it did not have the power/resources to obtain them from Albany.

    So, Albany accepted whatever NYC had to trade and told NYC to come back in 5 years when it had more to offer.

    ....but, needless to say, I wasn't actually in the room.
  • newguy88
    newguy88
    The problem @southeast is that much if not the vast majority of upstate is completely reliant on the car while in the city the vast majority of people rely on walking, mass transit and cycling to get around. They fail to understand there is a huge difference between doing 40 on a rural highway and 40 in a congested city road. So they see traffic violence and enforcement as a non-issue and a complete non-priority. This makes it a very tough sell for the city to convince them of the need for speed cameras. As whynot stated we simply lack the political punch to get over their indifference but more than political this is cultural. 
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    edited August 2015
    ‘speeders,’
    Huh? Are they not actually speeding?

    As for your cynical lines about the city just wanting to make money, they are putting the cameras where people routinely break the law in an extremely dangerous manner. Numerous people are killed and lives shattered by people on Eastern Parkway every year. The two most preferred instruments for killing people in Crown Heights are guns and cars. That is what the city is trying to stop. There should be many more of these cameras and the fines far higher than they are now.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2015
    mike dunlap-

    You seem to be reacting to the quote I published from crownheights.info.

    It is a fine reaction.
  • prodigalson
    prodigalson
    if it protects the public (particularly elders and children), great - let's hope the law is applied uniformly and effectively 
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    All 140 cameras permitted by Albany were installed by today, the first day of school.

    http://www.streetsblog.org/2015/09/08/nyc-has-installed-all-140-school-zone-safety-cameras-allowed-by-albany/
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