Glens Falls officials weigh automated speed enforcement after residents report repeated speeding near Crandall

Resident Brian told the Glens Falls Board of Public Safety on Sept. 10 that vehicles repeatedly speed through the Crandall and Lincoln area and often fail to stop at stop signs, putting children in the neighborhood at risk.

“This is a major thoroughfare for school days, weekends, ice cream truck, but the cars literally do not test the brakes,” Brian said, asking the board to “put some kind of safety precautions in place.”

Mayor (name not specified) responded that the department will run crash and call statistics and present recommendations to the board. The mayor said the city has purchased new equipment for enforcement, “spent 250,000 dollars on equipment,” and that the chief will bring information about how the equipment could be used.

Police Chief Smith told the board the new system is already deployed for testing near Crandall Pond and can record license plates and speeds. Chief Smith said the city must adopt a local code change and hold a public hearing at the Common Council before the device can be used to issue tickets.

“We have to then it'll go to the council. There'll be a public hearing. And then when that's passed, then we'll start handing out tickets,” the mayor said.

Board members and staff discussed short-term enforcement such as targeted patrols and ticketing as a way to deter speeding, and longer-term options including speed bumps where criteria are met. Lieutenant Padone and patrol officers were asked to collect data and photos of problematic locations to inform any code or engineering changes.

Members of the board also raised privacy and legal questions about the cameras. The mayor and Chief Smith told the board the cameras are capable of facial recognition and other advanced functions but that Glens Falls will not connect or use those features for live monitoring. Chief Smith said footage is sent to city servers, recorded for 30 days, and intended for investigatory use and speed enforcement only.

“It's recording it for 30 days. If there's an accident or a crime that we can go back and look, and we can identify and use it for investigations, and that's what it's there for. Public safety only,” Chief Smith said.

The mayor acknowledged there is risk of litigation but said the city is moving forward for safety reasons and will seek legal guidance from City Attorney Karen Judd before formal enforcement begins. The mayor said he expects to return to the board with a recommendation to forward to the Common Council for ordinance change and public hearing.

Action/direction from the meeting: the board asked Police Chief Smith to compile accident and call statistics for the Crandall/Lincoln corridor, to test and report on the new enforcement equipment, and to present recommendations at a future board meeting so the board can decide whether to refer a code change to the Common Council.

The board did not vote on a formal ordinance at the Sept. 10 meeting; any ticketing using the new camera system will await council action and any required public hearing.