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District activates its first fixed-site speed camera
(Published March 8, 2004)

It’s taken nearly three years, but that non-functioning photo radar camera on Florida Avenue in Northeast Washington finally went live. And motorists who exceed the 25 mph speed limit in front of Gallaudet University can expect to receive a ticket in their mailbox, beginning March 27.

Metropolitan Police Chief Charles Ramsey on Feb. 26 announced the activation of the District’s only fixed-site radar camera for catching speeders. Ramsey also issued a 30-day warning for motorists to slow down in the 600 block of Florida Avenue NE or expect to be fined up to $200 for infractions caught on film.

The camera’s activation represents the first time photo radar technology has been used at a fixed, 24-hour site in the United States, police said. Since August 2001, the police department has operated six specially equipped cars that enforce speed limits through use of photo radar cameras mounted on their front bumpers, snapping pictures of the offending vehicle and its license plate. The cars rotate among various targeted areas throughout the District.

Operation of a fixed-site camera was announced in July 2001 as part of the original camera-assisted speed enforcement plan. Police said the Florida Avenue camera was installed but was never activated, due to problems with fine-tuning the equipment’s operation.

"We wanted to do a comprehensive engineering design for that location," said Lt. Patrick Burke, who heads the department’s photo enforcement program. "We’re benchmarking this technology for others to follow."

Burke said the city has been working with officials in England and Ireland, which already use fixed-site cameras for speed enforcement, to design the District’s program. Roadway markings within the camera’s view will act as a check on the equipment’s accuracy, Burke said.

The site in front of the main campus entrance to Gallaudet, which has a curriculum geared to deaf and hearing-impaired students, was selected due to excessive speeding and several serious accidents in the area in recent years, police said.