Annapolis committee advances ordinance to expand speed‑camera use, directs fines to mobility fund

The Annapolis Transportation Committee voted Wednesday to give a favorable recommendation to O‑5‑25, an ordinance that would allow automated speed monitoring cameras outside of the narrowly defined school zones currently required by state rules and dedicate the resulting fine revenue toward pedestrian safety and related mobility work.

Sponsor Alderman Standelmeyer said the ordinance is “enabling legislation to allow speed cameras away from where they are currently permitted, which is within a certain distance of school zones.” He said the change is intended to give the city more flexibility to address speeding on arterial and connector streets while longer, costlier street redesigns are planned.

The ordinance drew support from the Annapolis Police Department. “We’re definitely supportive of this legislation,” Captain Amy Meggeth, head of the Administrative Services Division, told the committee. Meggeth said placement would be deliberative — based on accident data and complaints — and would include community engagement before a camera is installed. She noted state requirements limit expansion to residential areas with posted speed limits of 35 mph or lower and that the state definition of a school zone is narrower than many residents expect.

Committee members pressed staff on implementation details. Meggeth said the city currently operates five speed cameras and one red‑light camera and that the five cameras and the red‑light system generate roughly 50 citations per day that must be reviewed by a sworn officer before issuance. She said new camera locations include a pilot period that issues warnings rather than fines to give drivers time to adjust, and that cameras would generally be avoided on steep downhill segments because that would be unfair to drivers.

Alderman Savage and others asked for data to guide placement requests. Eric Leshinski, chief of comprehensive planning, and the police department discussed using camera and crash data as inputs for longer‑term road redesigns, and Meggeth said the department would provide hotspot and crash information used in its safety reviews.

The committee added a friendly amendment to require that city shares of the fine revenue be placed into the Sustainable Mobility Services Fund to support road redesign, pedestrian safety upgrades and transit alternatives. The Office of Law will review the proposed amendment before the item goes to the full council; a committee member noted that the law office had not yet completed its review.

A voice vote approved the motion to give O‑5‑25 a favorable recommendation as amended. The committee recorded the result with a unanimous “aye” and forwarded the ordinance to the full council for further review and any additional legal edits.

What the ordinance would change and next steps O‑5‑25 would expand the kinds of locations where automated speed monitoring cameras may be placed (subject to state limits), require community outreach before installation, and dedicate city fine proceeds to safety and mobility projects; roughly half of each fine would still go to the state, per existing requirements. Office of Law review and final council consideration remain pending.