[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6293557,"mediaKeyId","2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6","parentId",2523109,"title","Council weighs school‑zone speed cameras as stoplight camera contract is renewed","audioSeconds",1411,"startMs",4985000,"endMs",6396000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6&start=4985&end=6396","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6/thumbnail_4985000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6293557/Virginia-Beach/Princess-Anne-County/Virginia/Council-weighs-schoolzone-speed-cameras-as-stoplight-camera-contract-is-renewed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6293557-7abd8ae7e7d9d0110cbd7318d10ac1f1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440108&Signature=DOH-qzzmy4EnXlTtbTQ7sV7P94pUOI3368YCZQN0Fk9xj~p2NNxAqaIRdSr3KnvjU~RJgte4ATyXvhYOLpz1i3GGUjurx8wBfjakElZ5YuTvEgbY-8WoT1qIzLbjhRkn3lruEO66w2RbhvgaK1hU-EW93ucwrG1z~D3FhnvAyV0f-1Q5KRtWgyA5ZKpBenBQhNI0jBPZHPFhZW48Zg9PJs~4dRuBCK5CzB0qz~a46vNq2fXiWIVACw7pDOxIrmnhwzyL7FVuxs0klAhNvk8wRRP0jK1nW8BxsbmauUFwXa3q9aTZNz34oxLRC0if8C-MHwiDgWa08AIGZhff9SWGRg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Va Beach","date","2025-02-18T00:00:00Z","article","Virginia Beach police and public works staff briefed City Council on the city’s red‑light camera program and on options to add automated speed enforcement in school and construction zones as the city negotiates a new camera contract.

Deputy Police Chief William Zalms reviewed the Photosafe stoplight camera program’s history, enforcement rules and results. The stoplight program, first piloted in 2005 and reinstated in 2009 after state legislation, uses 11 intersections selected with Public Works for high crash rates or pedestrian safety concerns. Zalms said the cameras have coincided with reductions in crashes—an average 37 percent reduction in nine of 11 monitored intersections, with some locations seeing 60–70 percent drops.

Zalms presented the new legislative authority at the General Assembly to allow automated speed enforcement limited to school and work zones. Under the contemplated model, a speed camera would issue a civil penalty (the proposal in law sets a $100 civil penalty) for vehicles traveling at least 10 mph over the posted limit; violations would not be reported as DMV points or to insurers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and other studies cited by staff indicate speed camera programs reduce severe crashes and modify driver behavior.

On finance, staff said the existing Photosafe program has generated approximately $1.8 million in annual revenue, with current expenditures a little over $1 million. The new vendor contract being procured could nearly double contract costs (to about $1.8 million) for stoplight enforcement alone. Adding speed cameras would add ongoing equipment/service costs—roughly $2,300–$3,900 per camera per month, staff estimated—so any revenue projection should account for higher contract costs and an initial compliance period when violation counts tend to be high until behavior changes.

Zalms reviewed regional comparisons and early experience elsewhere: when Norfolk initially deployed school‑zone devices, violations were high at the program outset; other jurisdictions reported revenue but also rapid declines as driver behavior adjusted. Staff suggested that any ordinance authorizing speed enforcement should direct net revenue (beyond program costs) toward a CIP for traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures. Council members including Rosemary Angeloff and others expressed general support for prioritizing school‑zone enforcement and for routing surplus revenue to safety projects; several council members asked staff to return ordinance language and to stage any construction‑zone enforcement for a later briefing because construction enforcement is sporadic and can be operationally complex.

Ending: Council gave direction to pursue stoplight enforcement procurement and to prepare ordinance language and implementation plans for school‑zone speed enforcement, with construction‑zone enforcement to return for future council consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","VA Beach City Council Informal - 02/18/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Police and public‑works staff told council that expanding automated enforcement to school zones could reduce severe crashes, but that adding speed cameras will raise contract costs and requires a city ordinance and an implementation plan.","taxTitle","Virginia Beach, Princess Anne County, Virginia","taxId",4851,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6293561,"Staff: free resident oceanfront parking would drain parking enterprise fund; alternatives suggested",3204,1891000,5095000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6&start=1891&end=5095","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6/thumbnail_1891000.jpg","/articles/6293561/Virginia-Beach/Princess-Anne-County/Virginia/Staff-free-resident-oceanfront-parking-would-drain-parking-enterprise-fund-alternatives-suggested","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6293561-d3becd2fdc14fa84a7f4ff432a8b1112/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440108&Signature=neMCIOubJXdZeah~p0rAbIgKECJeY~pYxGCgoc0SfQ4UBzw~08yVpwaI96U-DmMCP38KpJTNW3-zfneHwL~gWNMklB3CTwMOdsKaCA33~Sxgq~thG2tvfUeazvRevSij6mjADYINBiLHycQVReEs2Wd~u4Rci6oI-un1kwEFGuAx39cNstpy~8bI-Xo4i2~hCi8PGoqUDLK8cZbUyGHfKAo3jenwlUKtO4ppxTmsArwQh503rh4uzHGexKwV6n~NhrfZNOj8l8YpzTKB-0-QbBb2z1zdyNqN3ZnkPud4l1HEQuNrx-724ADnbdrqY54-s56j3Liie~c7xKM3EqCoew__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff briefed the Virginia Beach City Council on a parking enterprise fund analysis and warned that offering unlimited free resident parking at the oceanfront would significantly strain the fund unless the city identifies alternate funding sources.

The presentation, led by a city parking official, explained that the oceanfront parking program operates as an enterprise fund and must cover operating costs, capital maintenance and any debt service from parking fees. Staff said post‑pandemic annual revenue averaged about $6.3 million (fiscal years 2022–24) while operating expenses averaged about $5.5 million; those figures do not include capital maintenance or large repairs. The consultant recommended a capital maintenance set‑aside budget of roughly $75 per space per year, yielding about $440,000 annually for repairs and replacement.

Staff walked council through the impacts of Atlantic Park construction that removed roughly 900 parking spaces during construction and will return approximately 1,455 spots when the new Atlantic Park garages open (anticipated in about three months). The consultant’s ramping projections assume Atlantic Park revenues will grow over two to three years as patrons change behavior and learn to use the new facility.

On resident discounts and behavior, staff said current after‑5 rates allow residents to pay $3 per stay in lots and garages; validating residency today often requires staff review of a driver's license or a phone call to staff. Employee pass data showed 90 percent of validated program users are Virginia Beach residents; staff said if residents were offered free parking there would be no incentive to pay, producing greater long‑term occupancy and reduced turnover. Sample usage data (limited sample, July) showed average stays of 2.45 hours for transient paying guests, 7–8 hours for employees and roughly 16 hours for trackable residents.

“Loss of revenue would, in fact, adversely impact the current financial model,” a parking official told council, noting that the enterprise fund would then require either higher visitor fees or transfers from other city funding sources (the presentation suggested potential sources such as the general fund or a tourism improvement program but emphasized these were possibilities, not decisions).

Council members discussed alternatives: a modest all‑day resident rate (for example a $5 resident day pass), targeted resident validation programs (including staffed validation in garages versus gateless automation), a Special Service District (SSD) paid by property owners and businesses, sponsored validation or private agreements with oceanfront businesses, and selectively metering Atlantic Avenue. Staff noted technical challenges to validating residents in gate‑free, app‑based systems and recommended that any free or deeply discounted resident program be designed to preserve turnaround for paying customers.

Parking administrator Rob Fries and staff also presented benchmark rates: Virginia Beach’s oceanfront parking rates are generally lower than comparator beach communities on the Eastern Seaboard. Staff said adding on‑street meter capacity on Atlantic Avenue could generate additional revenue (2024 data showed ~680 metered spaces produced about $1.6 million, roughly $2,400 per space annually), but staff cautioned that street meters alone would not offset the losses from a broad free‑parking policy in garages.

Ending: Staff said it would return to council with refined options and financial scenarios after receiving direction; council asked staff to explore targeted resident rates (a $5 all‑day option was mentioned) and SSD and validation approaches rather than immediate universal free parking.","City staff told council unrestricted free resident oceanfront parking would significantly reduce parking enterprise revenue unless the city identifies offsetting funding.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6293566,"Virginia Beach activates EOC, closes city facilities ahead of forecasted heavy snow",809,77000,886000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6&start=77&end=886","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6/thumbnail_77000.jpg","/articles/6293566/Virginia-Beach/Princess-Anne-County/Virginia/Virginia-Beach-activates-EOC-closes-city-facilities-ahead-of-forecasted-heavy-snow","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6293566-1349889b5f01078ef85929169e5247db/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440108&Signature=Dwe8GBTStqO8~nsHFOoUA26TrVStwpN33-fGcjTauIfnXMNm0F33oqauqnTyEbWQ52XkYDF2aytVi~BSw0r-yw17yg2V91gnTgrcaERktzjyIVZlIKexznEVuDcDVX~atY2IEzb0ipCahgh78jp8rfIThYFMgqWuHiDcX7tLt-IZLHEoM-p6JqHOndipUxsZrXp-5fy5tRQc~jC8hdmhTvMQKvwp7X8OvPCI66FJy0GU~at3gzit9MUjQMOLiVlnhkjee5h5YVHFK47pGfq--juS2qdgQ-~qk7JuPos4k2rEzpdLunxmEC8oKaPMtaf9Yg0j5dylPBkMyybtDhg6DA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Virginia Beach city officials told the City Council they have activated emergency monitoring and will close city facilities to the public as a winter storm expected to begin Wednesday moves into the area.

Director Tapas Tapasinski of Emergency Management told council the forecast calls for light snow beginning around 11 a.m. Wednesday, with widespread steady snow by 1 p.m. and the heaviest snowfall overnight into Thursday; a second round is possible Thursday morning and through the day. Tapasinski said the city is under a winter storm warning and forecast totals of about 5 to 6 inches are “pretty well likely,” though “we absolutely can't rule out 8 or a little bit more in some spots with drift and snow.”

City Manager Patrick Duhany and Tapasinski said the city has moved to preposition resources to keep critical routes open and to protect public safety. The Emergency Operations Center was placed at a level 1 monitoring status and is expected to move to an in-person level 2 activation Thursday to manage impacts. City offices and facilities will be closed to the public on Wednesday to allow final preparations and expedited snow-clearing actions.

Public Works began pretreating more than 700 miles of primary roadways, including bridges, underpasses and known shaded areas, and will continue pretreatment through the afternoon. The city is preparing about 35 snowplows with salt spreaders to begin clearing when accumulation warrants and has requested 12 additional plows with spreaders from VDOT through the Virginia State EOC. Tapasinski said the state is stretched from recent storms and those supplemental VDOT resources may not be available; the city has disaster/ emergency contracts ready to activate if VDOT cannot supply equipment.

Parks and Recreation Landscape Services is preparing roughly 15–18 snowplow trucks with spreaders plus hand crews and 8–9 additional trucks for critical 24-hour facilities and public schools. Public safety agencies (police, fire, EMS and ECCS) are upping staffing and placing additional four‑wheel‑drive vehicles into service to keep heavy apparatus available for life‑threatening calls.

Public schools announced an asynchronous learning day Wednesday through Friday and will provide bag lunches Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon, with enough meals provided to cover through Friday. Hampton Roads Transit said it will be on modified operations Wednesday afternoon and appears to have canceled some service Thursday.

Tapasinski said officials are discussing whether to request a local emergency declaration that would allow the city to access state resources and to activate certain emergency contracts; the city is under a state declaration currently and is weighing whether to declare locally to seek reimbursement or in‑kind state support. He said a decision on a local declaration will be made later tonight or tomorrow morning and, if declared, the council would be asked to confirm it at the next regularly scheduled meeting (or within the statutorily required period).

“Public Works has been pretreating all 700 plus miles of primary roadways,” Tapasinski said. “We have requested an additional 12 snowplows with salt spreaders from VDOT. That request was made yesterday evening to the Virginia State EOC.”

Council members asked about the forecast confidence and staffing decisions. Tapasinski said the city aggregates short‑range forecasts from the National Weather Service, a contracted firm called Perry Weather and roadway‑specific models (DTN ClearPath) and placed the combined short‑range confidence for a 3–6 inch event at roughly 80–90 percent. He reiterated the city’s operating posture and emphasized efforts to keep priority routes and 24‑hour facilities accessible.

Officials said they will monitor the storm through Friday and update the council if additional resource requests are required.

Ending: The briefing closed after council questions; staff said they will decide on a local emergency declaration after confirming resource needs and will update council and the public as conditions and resource decisions evolve.","Virginia Beach city officials told the City Council they have activated emergency monitoring and will close city facilities to the public as a winter storm expected to begin Wednesday moves into the area.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6293553,"Virginia Beach staff track General Assembly bills on resiliency, land‑use and surveillance",591,889000,1480000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6&start=889&end=1480","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2523109-b907a501760bf1f264aacd1b47e601a6/thumbnail_889000.jpg","/articles/6293553/Virginia-Beach/Princess-Anne-County/Virginia/Virginia-Beach-staff-track-General-Assembly-bills-on-resiliency-landuse-and-surveillance","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6293553-b3f46d156d248cda9bc587bee584295d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440108&Signature=kcVI1PdUg6P-IqrM~q0YffPFwQKkVZxz0RNFeHCGGuAomBm6PpV1WKgpBdOaujE6PdOnS45Pnuree77q9Zh9VscyfWIpdUEnnhQKjs0~B1mBuoHpXGPoPD82PN~fwIaHc7C~BlnTL5S08vtz1PAZyx-4qYnKXQ-K-ddVtX7wI0RDB7JVI55Zv~VvwV~-HnA1WalQ67uHdWdTI1H1dg6iIwHlkyU1Bn~cc6a7wuOAerMrSiROkZqXRDf13BLrBjT17RzqMPtQcsCmy~-wPqIpQl-XMJ9ntGpfFwnlHzd96K5hpkdm4L0YeXwpPWNU-ek-9dlKR-FxrNv5V8xVcgI6sw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A staff update to the City Council summarized items at the Virginia General Assembly that the city is monitoring, including bills on coastal resiliency funding, land‑use timing changes, license‑plate reader limits and other matters tied to local priorities.

Brent McKenzie, briefing from Richmond, said the General Assembly is in its final scheduled week and that much activity will shift to floor votes and conference committees. He highlighted several pieces of legislation of interest to the city: HB 2466 (listed under transportation) would create a Hampton Roads interstate highway corridor fund and a Highway Coastal Resiliency Fund; McKenzie noted the bills create fund structures but do not appropriate dollars and thus are a possible mechanism to help fund flooding infrastructure. HJ 434 would direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study how the state can assist localities with coastal storm‑risk management (CSRM) projects; McKenzie cited Norfolk’s recent $25 million state support as an example of what localities seek.

In land use, McKenzie called out HB 2660, which shortens review timeframes for plats and site plans and moves some review thresholds (for example, some review periods from 45 days to 30 days). He said the Virginia Municipal League worked on amendments to improve the bill and that while localities had concerns, the measure is progressing toward the governor.

McKenzie also noted recent action on license‑plate reader legislation that reduced a proposed 30‑day data retention to 21 days in some committee versions, limited sharing outside the Commonwealth and prevented some proposed expanded uses. He said the bill could go to conference committee and the final outcome remains uncertain. He mentioned SB 1009, which would allow localities to hold ranked‑choice voting for local elections (optional, not mandated), and reported a charter amendment failed in the Senate when it did not reach a two‑thirds threshold.

On imminent‑domain legislation, McKenzie said a city‑backed bill passed the House 97–0 and was scheduled for final Senate consideration. McKenzie closed noting the budget is anticipated to be released under standard rules and final assembly adjournment was expected by Saturday barring other developments.

Ending: McKenzie said staff will continue to monitor committee and floor action and report back on final votes and budget outcomes that affect city priorities.","City staff reported to council the General Assembly’s final‑week activity, highlighting bills that create resilience funding mechanisms, shorten local review timelines and limit license‑plate reader retention and sharing.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council weighs school‑zone speed cameras as stoplight camera contract is renewed

Staff: free resident oceanfront parking would drain parking enterprise fund; alternatives suggested

Virginia Beach activates EOC, closes city facilities ahead of forecasted heavy snow

Virginia Beach staff track General Assembly bills on resiliency, land‑use and surveillance