Buffalo’s controversial school zone speed camera program has ended.
But there's still the matter of all those $50 tickets motorists have paid, mayoral candidate India B. Walton said.
The move followed what Mayor Byron Brown described as a “passionate plea” from University Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt in a Facebook post Thursday.
On Tuesday, she called for refunds to anyone who was ticketed because of one of the speed cameras, as well as any fees they incurred.
The city collected $1.84 million in traffic fines. At least two class-action lawsuits related to the now-defunct speed camera program are pending.
She called the program “a failure” at a press conference in the city’s University District.
If the city fails to voluntarily honor his request, attorney Corey J. Hogan says, he will continue litigation aimed at refunds for those "wrongfully ticketed under the School Zone Safety Program."
“As mayor, I will be calling for all tickets as a result of this failed program to be refunded,” she said. “It’s important for the safety of our children, of pedestrians, of our community members to make actual investments in infrastructure and not rely on punitive measures of fines and fees in order to accomplish the goal of safety for our children and families.”
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Walton was joined by University Common Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt, who spearheaded the effort to remove the speed cameras. Wyatt said the Common Council is "deliberating" with corporation counsel on refunding fines and fees to anyone who received a citation after June 15. That’s the effective date of the Council’s resolution to end the use of speed cameras, replacing them with radar speed signs and speed humps. The legislation also changed the school zone speed limit from 15 mph to 20 mph and requires the city to place "school" pavement markings and crosswalks by schools.
Wyatt said Tuesday that the city’s Department of Public Works informed him that 20 radar speed signs will be installed before the start of school Wednesday. A total of 42 will be installed.
“Many of you know this is very near and dear to me: the nonpunitive measures for dealing with speeding in school zones,” he said.
Mayor Byron W. Brown said he "absolutely" supports a refund "if any citation was found to be improperly issued."
“Our goal has been to eliminate the school zone cameras along with the $50 fines that have affected so many people over the past few months,” University Council Member Rasheed Wyatt said.
"Our focus now is on investing in traffic safety measures around our schools and in our residential neighborhoods to keep our children and families safe," he said.
Before she became a candidate, Walton was a member of the Fair Fines and Fees Coalition in Buffalo, which drove the campaign to get rid of the school zone speed cameras program in the city, she said.
The School Zone Safety Program set a 15 mph speed limit around 20 public, private and charter schools. Drivers captured on camera traveling at least 26 mph received citations mailed to the car's registered owner. The city got $36 of each $50 citation. Sensys Gatso, the camera company that issued the citations, received $14. The cameras were activated only around arrival and dismissal times.
The school zone speed camera on Bailey Avenue in the University District was the last one to be turned off. It shut off on July 15.
All of the cameras have been dismantled, city spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said.
During the primary campaign, Walton emphasized her opposition to the speed zone cameras, contrasting her position with Brown's support for the program.
In April, she supported Council action calling for the removal of the school zone cameras, saying the Council's 6-3 vote against the program at the time reflected vast, popular rejection of the program. The Council originally provided unanimous approval for the program implemented in February 2020.
During the primary campaign, she accused Brown of wearing "blinders" in the face of widespread disapproval.
