Capital Region officials are touting measures to protect students as the new school year ramps up.
Speed cameras are now installed near Albany High School after the City of Albany recently lowered its speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour. The cameras are meant to enforce the 20 mile-per-hour speed limit in school zones.
Speaking outside the school Friday, Mayor Kathy Sheehan urged drivers to keep their eyes open.
“It is ultimately incumbent upon us the drivers of those vehicles that can be deadly, to be the ones who take the lead, who slow down, make themselves aware of the situation, look and be ready to stop. And that's what the lower speed limit and the speed cameras are designed to do,” Sheehan said.
Those caught speeding face a $50 fine. A 30-day grace period now in effect will issue warnings to violators.
Sheehan says the intersection of Main Ave and Chestnut Street has also been converted into an all-way stop, calling it the latest in a series of efforts to make the city’s roadways safer.
“We've done major traffic calming improvements along Madison Avenue, Clinton Avenue, Lark Street, New Scotland Avenue, Henry Johnson Boulevard and Brevator Street. We've planned major traffic calming and bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian improvements along Central Avenue and Frisbee [Ave],” Sheehan said.
Albany Police Department Deputy Chief Anthony Battuello urges drivers to just slow down, saying more cameras are coming.
“These cameras will serve as a deterrent and help raise awareness for the public safety. The hope of this, the hope is at the end time, not only do we see a decreased concern for accidents to occur, but that motorists are compliant through our school zones and can avoid these fines altogether,” Battuello said.
Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter says school buildings are a hub for activity even after the school day.
“We have activities going on throughout the day, weekends, certainly evenings and over the summer, and the steps that the mayor and her team and our elected officials have taken ensures safety for all 9,000 students,” Hochreiter said.
About a third of those students attend Albany High.
State Assemblymember Pat Fahy, a Democrat from the 109th District, says the fines will lower collision rates. She cited city police data that between 2018 and 2022, there were more than 11,000 in Albany.
“11 of those in that four year gap involved fatalities, five of which were pedestrians, six of which were motor vehicle occupants,” Fahy said.
Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs says it’s long been a personal cause for her.
“When I was on the City Council, the first street we were able to lower the speed limit on was South Pearl Street, and I was the Councilwoman of that area, and unfortunately, that was due to a tragedy where a little boy, Quazir Sutherland, was hit by a car in front of his family at a Father's Day barbecue,” Applyrs said.
As for concerns the speed cameras are just the city trying to grow its coffers, Applyrs says:
“We do need to enforce those fines to make sure that people hear the message loud and clear, and oftentimes it's when it's hitting them in the pocket,” Applyrs said.
