Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown and the Common Council are still at odds over speed zone cameras outside 20 public, private and charter schools.
Brown sent a letter to the Council on Friday vetoing the Council’s attempt to narrow the hours of enforcement at the 20 locations. The mayor said the change "unnecessarily restricts protections" for the well-being of children.
The Council is reviewing the veto and has 30 days from Wednesday to reintroduce its amendment for another vote. A supermajority of six Council members is needed to overturn the mayor's veto.
“Just because there’s a veto right now, it doesn’t mean that the issue is over,” said Council President Darius G. Pridgen during a Council meeting Tuesday.
The School Zone Safety Program uses cameras to capture speeding drivers in 20 school speed zones during specified hours. Corresponding flashing beacons provide additional warning to drivers approaching during the times the posted 15 mph limit is in effect. The zones were selected based on accident and traffic data.
People are also reading…
The original hours of enforcement are one hour before the start of school, to one hour after the close of school and during student activities. Drivers captured on camera traveling at least 26 mph while the beacons are flashing receive a $50 citation mailed to the car's registered owner.
The first set of beacons went live March 11, but the program was suspended days later when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered all school buildings in the state closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On March 17, the Council voted 6-3 to amend the hours of enforcement to 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. instead of during the entire school day. The speed limit would be 30 mph outside those four hours.
Brown did not veto the change within the 10-day window specified in the city charter. At the time, administration officials cited Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s "pause" order on many aspects of government due to Covid-19, which gave Brown more time to address the legislation.
Buffalo Public Schools, Buffalo Teachers Federation, as well as other organizations and parent groups oppose the Council's amendment, contending that children are dropped off and picked up all day; teachers take youngsters on walks and trips throughout the school day; and many high school students' schedules have them traveling to and from school all day.
But some community members have said during public meetings that the all-day enforcement is simply a money grab for the city and that arrival and departure times should be the main focus.
Meanwhile five of the school speed zone cameras went into effect Tuesday at six schools that reopened last month. They are:
• Buffalo Promise Neighborhood Children’s Academy and Westminster Community Charter School, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Notre Dame Academy and St. Joseph University School, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Canisius High School, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Nichols School, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As additional schools reopen, Brown said, the cameras in the other 15 locations will be reactivated.
