19 locations for red light and speed cameras.
Alders paved a road for the city to fine speeding drivers and red light runners with the help of traffic cameras — though they are poised to fund only half of the city positions the Elicker administration has requested for the rollout of those cameras in the upcoming city budget.
The board unanimously adopted an ordinance legalizing traffic enforcement cameras on Monday night — less than a year after the state legislature passed an enabling law in June 2023.
They also endorsed a proposal for the city to install such cameras at 19 intersections, including outside nine schools, which the Connecticut Department of Transportation will next review for final approval.
The city-approved traffic cameras are designed to record images of the offending vehicle’s license plate. Then, after review of that footage by a city-contracted vendor and by a city transit employee, the city will send a ticket worth $50 to $75 to the vehicle’s owner.
“The intent is to make New Haven streets safe for everyone,” said Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate, calling on his colleagues to vote in favor of the camera legislation.
Yet days before clearing those final legislative hurdles, the Board of Alders Finance Committee voted not to fund half of the city positions that the mayor had requested for the rollout of those cameras.
When asked whether the city will be able to actually implement a red light and speeding camera system without all of the hoped-for positions, Transportation, Traffic, and Parking Director Sandeep Aysola responded, “that’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
Update: On Tuesday afternoon, Aysola wrote in an email that “we will be implementing but we’re evaluating how best to reallocate available resources based on final BOA determination on Finance approved positions.”
Specifically, in his Fiscal Year 2024 – 25 budget proposal, Mayor Justin Elicker had requested four new city positions — a traffic safety engineer, a traffic enforcement systems technician, a traffic safety enforcement officer, and a program coordinator — dedicated to implementing a red-light and speeding camera system across the city.
The Finance Committee amended the mayor’s proposal on Thursday to include only two of those positions: the traffic safety engineer and the traffic enforcement systems technician, which the state statute mandates for municipalities that choose to set up traffic cameras. The amended proposal is now under review by the full Board of Alders.
According to Aysola, the positions rejected by the Finance Committee would have adjudicated traffic violations caught on camera (in the case of the enforcement officer) and supported the administration of the camera system (in the case of the program coordinator).
As to how the potential absence of those two proposed positions will affect the deployment of the cameras, Aysola said on Monday afternoon, “It’s still early. We haven’t figured it out.”
He said he was grateful that alders did advance the two state-mandated jobs focused on red light and speeding camera enforcement: “They worked hard” to include those proposed positions.
Mayor Justin Elicker, whose administration had proposed the traffic camera legislation, issued a statement after the alders’ meeting heralding traffic cameras as “a critical tool” to enforce safe driving.
“When you drive recklessly, you put others and yourself at risk, and we’re committed to holding people accountable for their actions. Once these cameras are up, they will make our schools and streets safer and save lives,” he wrote.
Brian Wingate.
The location proposals approved on Monday night focus on school zones and intersections with a significant history of crashes. They are listed in full below.
Red Light Cameras:
• South Frontage Road and Park Street
• MLK Jr. Boulevard and Church Street
• College Street and George Street
• Ella T. Grasso Boulevard (Rt 10) and Derby Avenue (Rt 34)
• Quinnipiac Avenue and E. Grand Avenue
• Whalley Avenue (Rt 63) and E. Ramsdell St/Ramsdell Street
• Orange Street and Edwards Street
• Ella T Grasso Boulevard (Rt 10) and Washington Avenue / Spring Street
• Quinnipiac Avenue (Rt 103) and Foxon Boulevard (Rt 80)
• Prospect Street and Highland Street
• I‑95 S off-ramp @ Main Street Annex and Woodward Avenue
Speeding Cameras:
• Barnard Environmental Magnet School (170 Derby Avenue)
• Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School (150 Kimberly Avenue)
• Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School (177 College Street)
• Davis Academy for Arts & Design Innovation Magnet School (35 Davis Street)
• FAME: Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration (255 Blatchley Avenue)
• James Hillhouse High School (480 Sherman Parkway)
• Nathan Hale School (480 Townsend Avenue)
• Ross/Woodward School (185 Barnes Avenue)