Speed Cameras in Southeast Portland to Issue Citations Beginning Wednesday

PORTLAND, OR – After a warning period, speed safety cameras in Southeast Portland will begin issuing citations Wednesday.

The speed safety cameras at Southeast Division Street and Southeast 122nd Avenue for 30 days had issued only warnings after being installed March 6. As of April 5, however, speeding drivers will start receiving actual speeding tickets in the mail –– typically a $160 fine.

In a statement Tuesday, city officials noted a decrease in the average speed in the area where the cameras were installed.

"I am very heartened by the early results from the speed safety cameras on (Southeast Division Street and Southeast 122nd Avenue)," said Transportation Commissioner Dan Saltzman. "These cameras work. They reduce speeding and by doing so, they are helping to make some of our most dangerous streets safer for all users."

According to a city statement, an average 715 drivers traveled 45 mph or faster on Southeast 122nd Avenue before the cameras were installed. After, the average dropped to 61 drivers still traveling 45 mph –– a 91 percent decrease.

The cameras on Southeast Division Street recorded a similar change.

Before the cameras, an average of more than 1,700 drivers traveled 40 mph or faster along Southeast Division Street, which Saltzman previously called a “death corridor,” according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. After the installation, an average of only 514 drivers still violated the speed limit –– which was lowered from 35 mph to 30 mph during a city council meeting March 2.

The emergency speed limit changed affected a 4.5 mile stretch of Southeast Division Street from Southeast 82nd Avenue to the city’s border. Five people were reportedly killed on Southeast Division Street in 2016.

"Like the speed safety cameras we installed last fall on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, the cameras on (Southeast Division Street and Southeast 122nd Avenue) have had an immediate impact," said Leah Treat, the city’s transportation director. "We are so focused on reducing speeding because it is one of the most significant contributing factors to deadly and serious crashes on our streets. If we can get people to slow down, we can save lives. It's that simple."

The new cameras add to the tools Portland police and transportation officials have adopted since state legislators in 2015 passed House Bill 2621, which gave the city permission to install “fixed photo radar on urban high crash corridors.”

The bill also requires the city to use the money collected from speeding citations to pay for the cost of maintaining the cameras or for additional safety improvements or programs along other high crash areas.

Northeast Marine Drive, which is also part of the city’s “high crash network,” will receive speed safety cameras later this year, transportation officials said.

In September 2016, a two-car crash on Northeast Marine Drive hospitalized three people.

Drivers can expect to see signs that provide notice 100 yards ahead of a camera’s location, as well as a speed reader board that flashes the driver’s speed.

All these road safety initiatives are part of the city’s Vision Zero program to eliminate traffic deaths.

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