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Residents press Middletown council on school lighting; council weighs restricting school-zone camera fines for safety projects
Summary
At the June 15 meeting residents raised concerns about poor exterior lighting at Middletown schools and inconsistent flashing school-zone signs. Councilors also discussed whether municipal revenue from school-zone camera fines (about $140,000 gross year-to-date) should be restricted to road-safety spending and asked staff for a memo with net revenue and a proposed fixed-per-ticket allocation.
A Middletown resident told the Town Council on June 15 she walked out of a night meeting at Middletown High School and could not see the curb, saying she worried someone would be injured and urging the town to add sensors and exterior lighting. She told the council she had fallen during a prior event and called for interim lighting at future meeting locations until a longer-term solution is in place.
Councilors said they will bring the concern to the School Committee and noted an application to the state traffic commission to install flashing school-zone lights on Valley Road; public works has quotes and the town’s goal is to have the lights in place before the school year begins.
Separately, councilors discussed revenues from automated school-zone camera enforcement and whether those funds can legally and practically be restricted for specific road-safety projects (striping, sidewalks, flashing signs). Town staff reported gross collections of about $140,000 this year but cautioned that net amounts are lower once municipal court, officer review and capital/maintenance costs are accounted for. A staff memo discussed the administrative and accounting costs of maintaining a dedicated special revenue fund and suggested a simpler fixed-dollar-per-ticket set-aside as a possible mechanism to reserve money for safety projects while keeping accounting manageable.
Council members asked staff to return with a memo that lays out net figures, proposed dollar-per-ticket options, and timing so the council can consider a motion at a future meeting.
