Council targets spending for federal relief dollars ► PAGE 3 M ay 5 , 2 0 2 2 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | S e r v i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y s i n c e 1 9 7 6
Police push district for school zone cameras By JEFFREY ALBERTSON newsroom@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — The Georgia General Assembly adjourned this spring without addressing an issue important to Dunwoody police, the matter of using cameras to cite school zone speeders. Senate Bill 183 would have removed part of the permitting process needed to install automated traffic enforcement safety devices, or speeding detection cameras, in school zones. Under current law, the permitting process for school zone traffic cameras starts with the local board of education, who must submit an application to the Georgia Department of Transportation. GDOT has final say over the multi-part application process. The application process is litigious, requiring studies and approval statements from the local government, including police. Maps must also be included showing the location of the cameras and signage. State law requires that the school must be within 1,000 feet of the roadway and that motorists be notified of the speed detection zone at least 500 feet before entering. Detection cameras have to meet certain eligibility and calibration criteria. SB 183 removed the local school board from the equation, and any Georgia city could seek approval for the cameras from GDOT directly. School zone camera legislation is
PHOTOS BY CHAMIAN CRUZ/APPEN MEDIA
A 2020 Dunwoody Police Department speeding study found 1,067 violations in the Chesnut Elementary school zone in a single day. The DeKalb County School Board has taken no action on Dunwoody’s request for speed detection cameras at three elementary schools. not new. HB 978, which went into effect on July 1, 2018, authorized the use of speed detection cameras in school zones. HB 199 was introduced on Jan. 29, 2021 but did not advance from the Motor Vehicles Committee. Another bill, HB 248 with similar language
removing school board say, cleared the Georgia House 133-35 in March 2021, but it did not advance through the Senate Government Oversight Committee. Rep. Michael Wilensky (D-Dunwoody) sponsored two of the earlier bills. In a Jan. 10 press conference,
Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan critiqued the DeKalb County School Board for not responding to a Nov. 8 letter sent by Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Doraville and Chamblee police chiefs taking school officials to task for not approving cameras in school zones, even after traffic studies had identified speeding problems. Grogan said the issue was about safety, not revenue, and the inaction jeopardized student safety in the four cities. “No department has the resources to assign a police officer to school zones every day,” Grogan stated in the letter to the board. “This program allows us to make the roads safer even when officers are patrolling other areas of the community.” The traffic study conducted for Dunwoody in early 2020 found 2,319 speeding violations in three school zones in one day. The number reflects only those vehicles traveling 10 miles per hour or more over the speed limit in the school zones. Dunwoody Elementary School had 639, Austin Elementary had 613 and Chesnut Elementary had 1,067.