Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Traffic Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges pause of Vision Zero cameras, urges traffic‑signal upgrades after local crash reports
Summary
Matthew Schneider, a Waverly resident, told the council the city’s Vision Zero speed and red‑light cameras should be paused and audited following an increase in reported injury crashes on the corridor since cameras activated. He urged the council to pursue signal upgrades or modern AI‑based signal systems instead of relying on cameras.
Matthew Schneider, a Waverly resident, urged the City Council on Nov. 3 to pause the city’s Vision Zero speed and red‑light camera program and conduct a full safety audit before continuing.
“I urge all council members and the public to watch the 8 28 23 council meeting,” Schneider said, and described what he said were 11 crashes on the corridor in the three months since the camera program began, with six injury crashes compared with one injury crash in a comparable prior period. “At 40 miles per hour, we're trading fender benders for very serious hospital visits,” he said in public comment.
Schneider told the council he believes the cameras can “spike crashes” and that the vendor did not sufficiently flag signal‑system incompatibilities during site surveys. He also said the cameras cost about $35,000 a month and argued those funds could be directed to local needs. “Pause the cams. Probe the problems, and let's get to smart road engineering and smart technology because our city deserves better,” he said.
Schneider suggested exploring modern traffic‑signal systems (he referred to “AI traffic system” modeling as a preferable investment) and raised concerns about pedestrian‑activated flashing beacons, citing federal data he summarized as showing low motorist compliance.
Council did not take action in response to the comment during the meeting. No city staff presentation or written report on the camera program or related crash data was included in the public record at this meeting.
