Speed Camera Network Slow Out The Gates Generating Revenue

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 13, 2014 6:05PM

This sign on 29th Street alerts motorists turning south on to Halsted that they're entering a speeding camera zone at McGuane Park. (Photo credit: Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist)

Chicago’s network of speed cameras at parks and school zones is believed by many to be nothing more but a naked cash grab for a city that needs revenue. But the network hasn’t been the moneymaker originally expected so far.

The Sun-Times reports that the growing speed camera network has only issued $3.7 million in fines since its launch late last year and the city has only managed to collect $1.5 million. A combination of factors could be involved for the low numbers. This winter has been brutal for Chicago’s street and the motorists driving them, which means most of them are being prudent when driving through a speed camera zone. Or maybe they’re able to recognize the signs pointing out the speed camera enforcement zones and slow down accordingly, unlike some aldermen.

Some folks in city government must have been seeing dollar signs after the speed cameras in the first zones established in the network resulted in nearly 205,000 warning citations in their first weeks of operation. That would have resulted in $13.9 million in fines if the cameras were issuing tickets. To be fair, the revenue the speed camera network could generate could increase as we head into warmer weather and the Chicago Department of Transportation isn’t finished testing out cameras in new zones.