Speed Camera on Canal Road

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever gotten a ticket? The police put the box there and take it away for a few weeks, then put it back. Right now, it's back, but the lights are pointed away from the roadway, so I am wondering if it is some type of decoy.

[Anonymous]

I drive past at exactly 24.9 MPH over the speed limit daily. You should be good to go!

[Anonymous]

I think I got a ticket there on the way to Sibley in labor (nice). If that's the road I'm thinking of, it was $150.

[Anonymous]

I received a warning last year when they first installed it, I was sad to see they brought it back!

[Anonymous]

I always go 30 MPG near it (which was the speed limit the last time it was there). Yes, I saw it come out a few weeks ago. I tend to keep a look out for it. But during 5-5:30 PM when I'm typically coming home, and everyone is going 50 MPH, it becomes a bit ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Where is it on Canal?

I don't think I can stand paying more than $1000 to DC in camera speeding tickets this year and it is getting close.

[Anonymous]

It's just east of Arizona before Reservoir on the North side of the street. It was originally installed sometime between September and December 2011 (when I was on maternity leave). It is pointed East, so it is clearly intended to get inbound drivers. It could work outbound, but I have never seen it flash either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is it on Canal?

I don't think I can stand paying more than $1000 to DC in camera speeding tickets this year and it is getting close.

And yet you reject the idea of simply driving with appropriate care at an appropriate speed?

[Anonymous]

We will put a marker pole on the side of the road to identify to drivers where to slow down and speed up again. SCREW DC's money grab to more social programs.

[Anonymous]

OP here, not the PP with the tickets. The camera is pretty effective at getting people to slow down, particularly inbound in the morning. But, people just speed up once they are past it. Plus, I am a believer in speed cameras in residential areas, but this is clearly placed to get inbound traffic when the traffic is two lanes inbound (see lines painted on the ground). It appears to be a revenue generator, rather than a safety camera.

If it is a decoy, that says to me DC is more concerned about safety than dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, not the PP with the tickets. The camera is pretty effective at getting people to slow down, particularly inbound in the morning. But, people just speed up once they are past it. Plus, I am a believer in speed cameras in residential areas, but this is clearly placed to get inbound traffic when the traffic is two lanes inbound (see lines painted on the ground). It appears to be a revenue generator, rather than a safety camera.

If it is a decoy, that says to me DC is more concerned about safety than dollars.

It's mostly a revenue generator. And that's fine. Generating revenue on the backs of people who speed is a time-honored tradition. All the better if they're suburbanites.

- DC Resident

[Anonymous]

It's a voluntary tax. Don't wish to pay it... well, that's within your control.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's a speed camera. It's part of a network of cameras that MPD has installed around the city just to record license plates and create a database of what cars have been where, when, what direction they were going, whether they're in or outside of the city. They use this database in investigating crime--if they have a lead on a car and need to figure out where it is, there's a good chance the computer can narrow the search way down for them, giving them an idea where that car is and where it's been.

Big Brotherish? Yes, it's here.

Sorry, I'm too lazy to hunt up the link. But it was in the Post, I think maybe 4-6 weeks ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a speed camera. It's part of a network of cameras that MPD has installed around the city just to record license plates and create a database of what cars have been where, when, what direction they were going, whether they're in or outside of the city. They use this database in investigating crime--if they have a lead on a car and need to figure out where it is, there's a good chance the computer can narrow the search way down for them, giving them an idea where that car is and where it's been.

Big Brotherish? Yes, it's here.

Sorry, I'm too lazy to hunt up the link. But it was in the Post, I think maybe 4-6 weeks ago.

So where did I send my $100 plus fine?

[Anonymous]

I hope they increase the fines. We need safe streets in DC.