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Northglenn council reviews safety-sensitive traffic zones and signals interest in automated speed enforcement pilot
Summary
After a year of safety-sensitive zone enforcement data, Police Chief Jim May recommended focusing resources on Community Center Drive and Melody Drive and proposed piloting automated speed-enforcement systems; council asked staff to return in Q1 2025 with cost, legal and program details.
Police Chief Jim May presented Northglenn City Council on Nov. 25 with data from the city’s safety-sensitive zones program (adopted under Ordinance 18 45) covering Aug. 2023 through July 2024 and urged targeted follow-up in several corridors.
May said the program’s intent was to change driver behavior via increased enforcement, visible signage and—where appropriate—doubled fines in designated zones. The zones include Fox Run Parkway (Ward 1), Irma Drive (Ward 2), Community Center Drive (Ward 3) and Melody Drive (Ward 4). Over the period, officers issued 608 tickets and spent about 176 officer-hours working the zones, May said. He also reported reductions in some crash types after enforcement began.
Community Center Drive and Melody Drive showed the highest 85th-percentile and peak speeds, May said, with Melody running 7–10 mph over the target 85th-percentile threshold in some samples. For those locations he recommended considering automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras or portable, ticket-writing systems and expanding the size of some zones so radar signage better captures driver approach patterns.
May described program mechanics based on state law: implementation requires a 30-day warning period with signage, and the statute sets an enforcement threshold (commonly enforced at 10 mph over the posted limit) before a summons is issued. City Attorney Hoffman reminded council that Colorado courts have treated photo-enforcement as a matter of statewide concern and that recent statutes allow use of stationary or portable camera units but also impose regulatory requirements.
Council members expressed broad support for piloting ASE in high-need areas and asked staff to examine vendor costs, collection procedures for unpaid citations, and the program’s operational burden on municipal court and administrative staff. Mayor Leidy and several councilors asked staff to return in early 2025 with cost estimates, potential funding models (including vendor revenue-sharing), and an implementation plan that includes the required 30-day education period.
Chief May said staff will work with Public Works and the city attorney to refine site selection and bring a detailed proposal for council consideration in Q1 2025.
