Get ready for more speed cameras in Fairfax County school zones.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave its support this week for the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) to move ahead with the installation of 50 additional speed cameras in school zones following the success of its speed camera pilot program.
“If we moved forward in August, we believe we could get 50 cameras online by the end of the year,” FCPD Assistant Police Chief Bob Blakely told the board during its Safety and Security Committee meeting on Tuesday (July 23).
Launched in February 2023 at eight sites, the pilot ultimately brought cameras to 10 school zones across the county and collected data on whether the cameras helped reduce speeding.
Before the cameras were installed, Blakley emphasized that average speeds in school zones frequently surpassed the posted limits by 8 mph or more. London Towne Elementary School in Centreville recorded the highest average, with speeds reaching 36 mph in a 25 mph zone.
Once the cameras were installed and an initial warning period ended, average speeds fell considerably, including London Towne, where driver speeds dropped from 36 mph to 25.7 mph.
A follow-up speed survey conducted this past February showed that most school zones with speed cameras maintained reduced speeds. Terraset Elementary School in Reston was the only one to see a slight increase, with average speeds rising from 24.4 mph to 25.7 mph.
“The program is effective,” Blakley said. “It’s doing what we believe, which is just reminding the community that there’s a school zone…and it just reminds us all to go the speed limit, which is our number one goal.”
According to Blakley’s presentation, the FCPD issued over 20,000 speeding tickets triggered by the speed cameras from April 2023 to May 2024, 71% of which were for drivers going 10 to 14 mph over the speed limit.
Deputy County Executive for Safety and Security Thomas Arnold noted that approximately 75% of the tickets were paid, generating over $400,000 in net revenue for this year after the program’s expenses are taken into account. That could potentially exceed $2 million if the remaining cameras are installed.
“We are looking at around 40% of every million dollars brought in,” Arnold said.
While Blakley and the supervisors praised the program, the pilot encountered initial challenges, including difficulties obtaining Virginia Department of Transportation permits for camera installations, malfunctioning flashing lights, delays in mailing violation notices and court summonses, and staffing issues.
While most of those issues have been resolved, the staffing problem persists, Blakley noted.
Currently, only sworn law enforcement officers can check and approve violations. Since there aren’t any specific positions set aside for that duty, Blakley says the job usually falls to officers on “light duty” or those pulling overtime.
The FCPD has requested additional staff, including a management analyst and a police supervisor, to better support and expand the program.
“But we look forward to working with the county to identify the best solutions for that, and we believe that we have the staffing in place right now to move into the next phase,” Blakley said.
Supervisors generally supported the program’s success and the proposed expansion. However, Chairman Jeff McKay urged the FCPD to intensify messaging communicating its plan to install more speed cameras in school zones, emphasizing the need to alert the public as the school year approaches.
“The school [year] starts in a month, in essence,” he said. “…Our messaging out to the community… in my mind, that should be right, front and center at the top.”
Blakley indicated that if all goes well, the FCPD could expand the speed camera program again next year with another 30 cameras.
He also confirmed to the board that the FCPD is still working with Fairfax County Public Schools on a school bus stop-arm camera pilot program. The supervisors authorized 50 cameras last year to monitor drivers who fail to stop when buses are boarding and off-loading students.
FCPS has been looking into stop-arm cameras since 2013, but legal questions, stalled vendor talks and other challenges have held up implementation.
“They’re very close to being ready to go live with their program,” Blakley said. “They’ve been challenged as well with some of the reporting back and forth from the courts, and they continue to work through some of that stuff. But we’ve been there with them the whole way…and are prepared to start that pilot with them when they get to that point of being ready.”
