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RTM votes to submit speed‑camera safety plan to CTDOT after months of public debate and technical review
Summary
After extended committee hearings and intense public comment, the RTM approved submission of Greenwich’s automatic traffic enforcement safety plan to the Connecticut Department of Transportation; committees split on process, placement, privacy and vendor arrangements but police and proponents said enforced cameras reduced speeding by 92% at pilot sites.
The Representative Town Meeting voted to submit the town’s automatic traffic enforcement safety plan (speed‑camera program) to the Connecticut Department of Transportation after a lengthy joint-committee review and hours of public testimony.
Joint committee meetings featured technical testimony from Greenwich Police Department leadership and the vendor, Blue Line Solutions, followed by detailed cross‑examination from RTM committee chairs. Police and vendor representatives told committees that cameras installed at selected school‑zone corridors recorded a 92% reduction in violations once enforcement began and argued the program reduces speeds in a way patrols cannot match with available staffing.
Opponents voiced multiple concerns: the choice of camera sites (some not adjacent to heavy pedestrian walkways), the clarity and consistency of signage at some locations, whether equipment and data practices meet Connecticut privacy and security expectations, the vendor contract structure and the possibility of mission creep or expansion without further RTM review. Several speakers and committees requested clearer public engagement and uniform signage and recommended using the summer pause to refine camera placement and community education.
Authorities and counsels present told committees the contract had been reviewed by the town attorney and that revenue collected under state law is restricted for transportation-safety uses; Blue Line said it made an up-front infrastructure investment and that fees are structured independent of citation volume to comply with anti-contingency statutes. Chief James Heavey and other committee chairs noted that any material change to the plan would require public hearings and would return to the RTM. The district motion to postpone to September failed. On the final vote to submit the plan to CTDOT the tally was 100 in favor, 60 opposed, 3 abstaining.
The RTM decision advances the town’s ability to seek state authorization and, if approved by CTDOT, to resume enforcement consistent with the town plan and statutory requirements. Committees and the police said they will continue to evaluate camera placement, signage, appeals procedures and data protections while the program operates.
