Illinois Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Chicago Red Light Camera Case

According to the Expired Meter, the Illinois Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Chicago Red Light Camera Case.  This is a good sign.  Maybe while they are there, they can declare the speed cameras illegal as well.

50 Speed Camera Locations

This website lists all of the 50 speed camera locations.

I especially love the description that they use for the locations.

Map of mayor Rahm Emanuel's auxiliary funding initiative locations.

Emanuel announces 50 speed camera sites

According to The Chicago Tribune, Emanuel announced there will be 50 speed camera sites in the near future.  This is an update from the original 12 locations released earlier.

Voices from The Chicago Sun Times also has a great site that shows all of the speed camera locations.  You can type in your address to see if there are any near you or near your usual driving routes.

I think what makes these cameras so annoying is all the different rules for when tickets will be issued and what the speed limit is during which times.  I would recommend that everyone reach out to their local alderman and encourage them to put signs in place so everyone knows when the speed limit is 20 and when it is 30 and when the speed cameras are turned on.  I know near the middle school that I went to in the suburbs, when the speed limit was 20mph (which was only when school started and ended and not throughout the entire day when kids are supposed to be in school and not crossing the street), there was a speed limit sign that blinked orange so everyone knew to be alert for crossing children and to slow down.

If you want to look up who your alderman is, please click here.

From the Chicago Tribune article:

Each camera will trigger warning tickets during the first 30 days. After that, drivers exceeding the speed limit by 6 to 10 mph will get $35 tickets in the mail. Those exceeding the limit by more than 10 mph will get $100 tickets.

Near parks, the cameras will be active when the parks are open, generally from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. The speed limit near parks is 30 mph.

Near schools, the cameras will be active from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on school days. From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., the speed limit in those areas is 20 mph when children are present and 30 mph when they are not. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the limit is 30 mph.

First speed cameras to trigger warnings Monday

According to the Chicago Tribune, the first speed cameras are going to start issuing warnings on Monday.  By the end of the year, they are predicting we will have multiple speed cameras at 50 locations.  There are currently speed cameras at 12 locations throughout the city.

Chicago Speed Camera Operating Hours

The Huffington Post provided some more information today on the hours that the speed cameras will operate.

The speed cameras won't monitor speeds 24 hours a day. CDOT officials say hours will be limited from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in safety zones around schools on school days; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. when children are present, the speed limit also drops to 20 mph rather than the posted 30 mph.

The city expects to select 50 locations for camera installation in 2013.

Chicago Speed Cameras Coming Soon

According to the Chicago Tribune, the trial run for Chicago Speed Cameras showed the city is about to rake in alot of money.

New speed cameras will start operating this month at:

1. Gompers Park, 4222 W. Foster Ave.
2. Garfield Park, 100 N. Central Park Ave.
3. Marquette Park, 6743 S. Kedzie Ave.
4. Washington Park, 5531 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.

Speed cameras will start operating at these locations starting in September:

1. Legion Park, 3100 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
2. Humboldt Park, 1440 N. Humboldt Dr.
3. Jones High School, 606 S. State St.
4. Douglas Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Ave.
5. McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Road
6. Curie High School, 4959 S. Archer Ave.
7. Abbott Park, 49 E. 95th St.
8. Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 3857 W. 111th St.

Violators will be warned for the first month and then will get a warning ticket after the first violation. After that, anyone caught going 11 mph or more over the limit will get a $100 ticket by mail. Those going 6 to 10 mph over the limit will get a $35 ticket.

I recently got turned on to Waze.  Similar to google maps, it helps you find the best routes based on traffic.  The bonus of Waze is that it will also alert you to red light cameras, speed cameras, police in the area, and accidents.  With the new speed cameras showing up, I recommend that we all start using Waze so we get a warning before approaching one of these intersections.  The city is authorized to place cameras at up to 300 locations so these 12 locations are just the top of the iceberg.

Chicago Speed Camera Installations Start In August

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/19/chicago-speed-camera-inst_n_3624190.html?utm_hp_ref=chicago

They are saying that there could be up to 300 speed camera sites in Chicago by the end of it all.  To put that into perspective, we only have 190 red light camera locations.