West Hartford's Speed Enforcement Camera Plan Becomes Clearer

WEST HARTFORD, CT — In 2023, West Hartford's top elected body committed to installing speed enforcement cameras in town as part of its ongoing program to make town roads safer.

And, last week, the West Hartford Town Council officially approved a resolution finalizing the financing of the program and getting it into the current municipal spending plan.

The unanimous vote on Jan. 14 was a formal resolution to appropriate federal grant dollars and to transfer existing town funds to pay for 15 cameras that will go up throughout town to enforce speed limits.

If all goes as planned, the cameras will be installed as soon as July of this year.

In discussing the resolution, council members touched on other aspects of the camera plan, including how much the tickets issued by them would cost speeders and who kept the revenue.

According to the resolution, the cost of the program is $836,259 in total, with West Hartford already getting $669,007 through a Federal Highway Administration grant.

The remaining $167,252 — 20 percent of the project — will come from the current capital improvement budget.

Last week's vote establishes a budget for "speed management" and puts the fiscal framework together to purchase and install the speed cameras.

The speed management program's initial phase is 18 months and "involves the deployment of Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices (ATESD) also known as speed safety cameras at 15 key locations throughout town, program initiation and implementation by a vendor, as well as reimbursement for support by town staff, including the police department," reads the resolution.

In 2022, there were multiple fatal accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians, a situation prompting the West Hartford Town Council to endeavor to promote roadway safety in town.

This led to the Vision Zero project, which aims to eliminate accidents/incidents causing serious injury or deaths in West Hartford, an initiative formally undertaken last year.

The speed management program is one aspect of this.

"This program will be a critical component of our Vision Zero plan," West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith told council members.

He said the town's engineering and police departments are studying areas in town to determine where the cameras will go.

Then, later in the winter, the town will draft a plan of action, with an ordinance going before the council in April or May regarding the plan, Ledwith said.

Before a council vote on the ordinance, the town would conduct public hearings where residents can weigh in on the camera program.

Once the town approves the ordinance, Ledwith said the state Department of Transportation will rule on the plan, with the Federal Highway Administration weighing in afterward, he said.

The goal, Ledwith said, is to start putting in the cameras this July.

West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said West Hartford's process to get the cameras installed is more labor intensive because federal funding is paying for most of the project.

Council members discussed the possibility of residents being overwhelmingly against such a program and whether the town would have to pull back on the initiative.

Ledwith said the decision is up to the council and he said he thinks the public would support the measure.

"Certainly, this will be a policy decision that the council will make through the ordinance process and the public will have an opportunity to weigh in at that point," Ledwith said.

"I believe that our town, our community, is ready for this type of program. I think we've all witnessed enough tragedy around town."

Ledwith referenced six deaths in 2022 and three last year and the goal is to avoid such incidents.

He said tickets issued by the cameras would feature smaller fines, capped at a set amount determined by the council, possibly a $50 ticket plus an administration fee.

Ledwith said revenue from the cameras would stay with the town, with funds diverted to other Vision Zero projects.

"The revenue could be significant based on these types of programs," Ledwith said. "What's most important is that our streets are safe and the revenue in secondary."

Republican Councilman Mark Zydanowicz said he didn't want the town to become too reliant on the cameras to enforce speed limits in town.

"I don't want to rely on cameras (and) get away from more enforcement through our police department," Zydanowicz said. "I think it's critical to keep that up."

He said the cameras should not prompt the West Hartford Police Department to conduct less speed enforcement operations.

Ledwith said the cameras would enhance enforcement, allowing manned staff to enforce speed limits in other areas while the cameras would oversee their own territory.

"We would be spread throughout town with our technology and our personnel," he said.

For the minutes of the Jan. 14 West Hartford Town Council meeting, click on this link.

From Dec. 4, 2023: 'West Hartford PD To Catch Speeders Via Cameras'