City council considers introducing speed cameras to Gallup
In an effort to crack down on speeding and prevent accidents, the Gallup city council is considering putting up speed cameras around town.
During an April 23 city council special meeting, Heidi Traverso, a representative from NovoaGlobal, a safety equipment supplier, explained how the company could help the city with their goal of making Gallup a safer place to live by setting up speed cameras around town.
SPEEDING ISSUES
For about a year now, Traverso has been working with the Gallup Police Department to collect data regarding speeding on city roads. She shared that data with the council, showing that the City of Gallup has a major speeding problem.
Traverso explained how speed cameras could help the GPD prioritize what their limited staff is doing rather than sticking as many officers as possible on traffic duty.
“[Speed cameras] allow locations around the city to be monitored for speeding and it allows the officers to be involved in the community, or to be following up on their cases or to be handling 911 calls; all those things that require human contact and interaction,” Traverso said. “That’s where you want your officers spending their time. Not outside of a school doing tickets. …”
With speed cameras, technology does the work, catching people who are going a certain amount over the speed limit and sending them a letter in the mail with photos and directions on how they can pay their ticket. Traverso noted that certified officers would need to review each violation, but those reviews typically only take 20 seconds as the officer looks at the video.
Traverso called it “more of a net than a fishing pole” when describing the less amount of time and work the officers would be putting into traffic duty if the speed cameras were installed.
To begin implementing the speed camera program, GPD and NovoaGlobal monitored some high traffic areas around town and identified some problem locations with a speed study report.
GPD found that many people were going 10, and even 15-20 and more miles over the speed limit on many city roads. Traverso found the numbers slightly concerning, and said that Gallup is on par with the much bigger city of Albuquerque when population is factored in.
“These numbers are really high because there’s no intervention right now,” she said. “[…] After we implement the first 30 days with the warnings and the signs go up, there’s a huge drop, like 70%.”
STATE CHALLENGES
One thing that puts a bit of a damper on the project is the fact that the New Mexico Department of Transportation typically prohibits the use of speed cameras on state roads. Traverso said the City of Albuquerque sidestepped this problem by going in front of a NMDOT committee and pleading their case.
Now that the speed study is complete, city staff are working to draft up an ordinance that the councilors will approve at an upcoming meeting. If they approve the ordinance, the city would have to meet with the NMDOT.
After the city meets with the NMDOT, NovoaGlobal can begin developing the city’s contract and the two parties would ultimately decide what the violation criteria is, i.e. how much a driver can go over the speed limit before they would receive a photo enforcement violation.
Once the program is initiated, a 30-day trial period would take place. Anyone who receives a “ticket” in that period of time would get off with a warning.
One component of the project is an effort to reduce speeding in school zones. Traverso showed the council some examples of tickets that feature a child’s picture and a note from them asking the driver to slow down in school zones.
“It’s kind of sobering to see a child’s photo imploring you to slow down in their neighborhood,” Traverso said.
She suggested that the city keep the speed cameras running 24/7, and that they cap the violation criteria at 11 miles over the speed limit.
Novoaglobal works with a cost-neutral model. They pay the construction and engineering costs to get the speed cameras up and running in a city. They also pay for any signage, maintenance, and operation costs. They also pay for a public awareness campaign to get the word out about the program.
The City of Gallup has a couple options in terms of how they want to pay for the service. They can either use a payment plan that takes a percentage out of each paid violation, or they can pay a flat monthly fee.
Novoaglobal puts up an investment of about $110,000 per each camera system that is installed.
The city would receive a small amount in revenue from each paid violation, but before they can count something as a credit, they have to pay any expenses, such as the police officers’ pay or the court employees’. Once those expenses are taken out, the State of New Mexico would take 50% of the remaining profit, leaving the city with the rest.
THE POTENTIAL
BENEFITS
In an interview with the Sun, Gallup Police Chief Erin Toadlena-Pablo said the GPD won’t know how much revenue the violations would bring into the city until they’ve completed the ordinance they plan to present in front of the council at a future meeting.
The potential revenue would help the city fill in potholes, improve roads, and put in lighting around busy streets for pedestrians.
Gallup Municipal Court Judge Janelle Griego said if the councilors decide to put the speed cameras around the city, she would need at least one more court employee to help with traffic violations.
When she ran for office in 2020, Griego ran on the belief that people should not have to break the bank to pay any court fees such as speeding tickets. She suggested anyone who is considered indigent should only have to pay a reduced fine.
“… I would rather get the $50 than no dollars because they’re probably not going to pay us if they don’t have the money,” she said.
The violations would only be a civil penalty and would not require a warrant. It also wouldn’t affect the violator’s insurance.
Traverso stressed the amount of good a speeding camera can bring to a community like Gallup.
“This program, to me, can really enhance the livability and safety in this community so the police department can do their job and be more visible during [community events],” she said.
Toadlena-Pablo said the speed cameras would be a huge support for her department.
“I always say that we are the best police department here, and we’re only going to be the best if we keep being innovative in how we’re going to combat crime here. I think this is one of the steps toward that,” she said.
Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, was the one who introduced Traverso to Gallup after she met her at a conference. She shared her excitement for the speed cameras during the special meeting.
“I’m excited, I think this is a great opportunity,” she said. “I’m thankful to law enforcement and the courts for moving forward with this. … I think this is something that would be very beneficial for us.”
Councilor Linda Garcia, Dist. 1, also showed support for the new program.
“I support this 100%. It’s needed,” she said. “If we can help our police department with the speeding, I would love to be a part of that solution.”
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
