Get ready to slow down
on the Boulevard

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

State Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.) reintroduced legislation last week to install speed cameras along the Roosevelt Boulevard.
This time around, the funds generated by the speed camera initiative are to go to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Motor License Fund. The program helps fund roadway safety improvements including better lighting on crosswalks, Kenney said.
Kenney had debuted his plan to erect the cameras, which would snap pictures of and fine cars speeding through certain intersections, in November 2006. Since it was introduced late in the legislative session, he needed to introduce it yet again this year. But the same commitment remains to getting the cameras rolling.
"Once the law is passed, it will be enforced," Kenney said during a news conference last week.
He was joined by state Reps. John Taylor (R-177th dist.) and John Perzel (R-172nd dist.), who has largely shunned the media spotlight since losing his role as speaker of the Pennsylvania House to Rep. Dennis O’Brien (R-169th dist.) in January.
Kenney plans to get the speed cameras installed at Mascher Avenue, Levick Street, Rhawn Street, Welsh Road and Southampton Road. He expects them to start working about two months after the legislation is signed into law.
The speed technology operates similarly to the red light cameras currently installed to nab light runners at Cottman Avenue, Grant Avenue and Red Lion Road. The speed cameras use Doppler radar to cast a beam along the roadway as the vehicle passes. Like the violators of the red light cameras, speeding drivers get tickets but no points on their licenses.
Also like the red light cameras, there will be a 30-day grace period where drivers get warnings before ticketing kicks in. Unlike the red light cameras, which carry a maximum fine of $100, drivers caught speeding at the proposed intersections could get a ticket costing as much as $500.
As with the red light cameras, the Philadelphia Parking Authority will not release information on drivers who have been ticketed, but it will permit access to statistical data on the revenue generated from the fines.
Kenney had originally planned to put the ticket revenue toward a Roosevelt Boulevard Pedestrian Bridge Fund, which would get overpasses constructed at key intersections.
The idea came after seven pedestrians were struck at various spots along the Boulevard during a three-month stretch in 2006. Five were killed.
But Kenney learned last December that one bridge alone would cost millions of dollars and take about five years to build. While the pedestrian bridges remain a long-term consideration, Kenney said the Motor License Fund would help fund more immediate improvements like better lighting and signage along the roadway.
Also assisting in improving safety on the Boulevard are additional red-light cameras. Late in 2006, City Council authorized the installation of five more red-light cameras at the same avenues targeted for the speed cameras.
Though the intersections will serve as both speed and red-light cameras, drivers can’t get fined for both speeding and red-light running, Kenney said.
Kenney said the effectiveness of the red-light cameras was apparent from a study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The results revealed a 96-percent decrease in red-light running at two of the three intersections where cameras are currently installed.
Vince Fenerty, executive director of the parking authority, said both the red light and speed cameras are part of his agency’s Integrated Safety Program.
"The parking authority is committed to saving lives through the red-light and speed camera programs," he said.
In another move to improve the safety along the Boulevard, PennDOT will deem it a highway safety corridor on March 16. The designation means that fines for some violations will be doubled. ••