With students officially back in class, Fairfax County is expanding its use of speed cameras to enforce the 25-mph limit in school zones.
Over the next few months, the county will roll out cameras to 10 additional locations near public schools for the first phase of its speed camera program, building on a pilot program that launched in February 2023 with eight sites.
The new locations will be:
- Belvedere Elementary School (6540 Columbia Pike, Lake Barcroft)
- Cardinal Forest Elementary School (8600 Forrester Blvd, West Springfield)
- Chantilly High School (4201 Stringfellow Road, Chantilly)
- Edison High School (5801 Franconia Road, Franconia)
- Flint Hill Elementary School/Madison High School (shared on Flint Hill Road in Vienna)
- Marshall High School (7731 Leesburg Pike, Idylwood)
- McLean High School (1633 Davidson Road, McLean)
- Mount Vernon High School/Riverside Elementary School (shared on Old Mount Vernon Road)
- Robinson Secondary School/Oak View Elementary School (shared on Sideburn Road in Kings Park West)
- Stone Middle School (5500 Sully Park Drive, Centreville)
The Fairfax County Police Department confirmed plans to introduce more speed cameras at the July 23 meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Safety and Security Committee, reporting that they appeared effective at lowering speeds, despite some challenges encountered during the pilot.
A speed survey conducted this past February found that all eight of the original school zones were seeing average speeds under 30 mph, a notable drop from pre-pilot speeds except on Soapstone Drive outside Terraset Elementary School in Reston. There, the average ticked up from 23.8 mph to 25.7 mph.
“Data suggests that school zone speeding is prevalent and cameras are effective,” the county said in a press release. “In pre-pilot surveys, it was noted that thousands of drivers exceeded the speed limit by more than 10 mph during a sample period in the tested school zones…The ultimate goal is to change driver behaviors to keep Fairfax County residents safe.”
The survey data didn’t include Blake Lane near Oakton High School, where a camera was installed in April. The other pilot schools were Chesterbrook Elementary School in McLean, Key Middle School in Springfield, London Towne Elementary in Centreville, Sleepy Hollow Elementary in Lake Barcroft, South County Middle School in Lorton and West Springfield High School.
Between April 2023 and May 2024, the cameras triggered over 20,000 speeding citations, generating $40,000 in net revenue for the county once the program’s expenses were taken into account, FCPD Assistant Police Chief Bob Blakely told the Board of Supervisors last month.
Tickets carrying fines of up to $100 are issued to drivers who exceed the speed limit by 10 mph or more. During the pilot, drivers caught speeding during the first 30 days after the cameras were installed got only a warning, but the FCPD didn’t immediately confirm whether a similar grace period will be in place for the new cameras.
Another 40 cameras are slated for installation around the county by the end of this year to complete phase 1 of the program, followed by 30 more in 2025 for phase 2. Locations will be added to the program’s website “as they are available,” the county says.
Speed cameras have proliferated in Northern Virginia since the General Assembly approved their use in school and work zones in 2020. Fairfax City launched a program in 2022, Alexandria introduced cameras last year, and Arlington will begin enforcing school zones with cameras on Sept. 25.
However, state legislators delayed consideration of a bill authorizing localities to place speed cameras anywhere they’re “deemed necessary” until 2025.
In addition to expanding its speed camera program, Fairfax County will kick off the new school year with the launch of a school bus stop-arm camera pilot program that has been in the works for over a decade now.
Cameras will be added to 50 school buses “spaced throughout the county” with the goal of catching drivers who don’t stop as required when students are boarding or off-loading. Stop-arm cameras have been used for years in neighboring Arlington and Falls Church City.
Fairfax County said police will start enforcing school bus passing violations using the new cameras “soon” but didn’t announce an exact date yet.
