D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is promising to more than triple the number of traffic cameras that issue fines by the end of next year.
Bowser made a year ago to upgrade the city’s automated enforcement equipment. The District Department of Transportation said it is procuring equipment to replace 128 of the existing 137 cameras and add another 129 before the end of this year. A large share of the additional cameras will enforce bus lane rules, the agency said.
“We hear a lot from parents who worry about walking their kids around the neighborhood, certainly from people who bike, and just generally people who are fed up with seeing aggressive drivers on their streets,” said Tom Quinn, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 3. “There’s concern about dangerous driving, and the traffic cameras are a tool for making our streets safer.
cameras “based on the greatest impact they can have in protecting pedestrians and preventing traffic crashes.”Supporters say they also hope for measures to ensure motorists pay fines, noting that thousands of fines go unpaid each year. The city, owed about $500 million in unpaid parking and traffic fines, has few mechanisms to ensure offenders face consequences. Bowser’s plan also calls for more resources for the city’s towing and booting program.