Riverdale Park council hears briefing on automated stop‑sign cameras and privacy safeguards

Deputy Town Manager Barnes told the Riverdale Park mayor and council that the town is finalizing contract language with Avio for an automated stop‑sign enforcement program authorized by a 2025 ordinance and opened to procurement late that year. "The Avio cameras do utilize AI technology at the beginning of the process to identify potential violations," Barnes said, and she described two layers of human review: Avio staff check AI flags and then the Riverdale Park Police Department evaluates whether a crime occurred.

The town intends to limit the initial contract to one year with options to extend and to include penalties and an immediate termination clause for material breaches, Barnes said. She also emphasized state privacy rules: data tied to Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration records are held by the MVA; non‑violation video remains on the device and is deleted after 24 hours, and metadata is removed.

"So that's the first, human review of the AI component," Barnes said, describing steps the town will require vendors to document. She told the council the vendor has committed to background checks and restricted MVA access for a very small number of employees.

Council members pressed Barnes and Police Chief Turner on several technical details and on how the town will evaluate program effectiveness. One council member asked whether non‑violation footage that does not leave the camera is distinct from footage reviewed and later categorized as non‑violations; Barnes replied that state law governs retention limits and that non‑violations must be deleted "completely." Chief Turner added that Avio has reported neighboring jurisdictions saw a roughly 50% drop in violations at instrumented locations within three months.

Residents who spoke during public comment urged a safety‑first, data‑driven rollout. Doris Bartel, a Riverdale Park resident and public‑health evaluator, asked the town to publish baseline pedestrian‑safety data and to explain how locations will be selected and evaluated. "I'd prefer a safety first data informed approach to traffic calming," Bartel said.

Barnes and other staff said the town will include community education and public‑outreach components in the rollout, and that contract language will try to put privacy and security commitments in writing (for example, explicit assurances about no live‑streaming, encryption in transit, and deletion timelines). They also confirmed Avio uses Amazon Web Services for cloud storage but said custody of MVA data remains with the state and any external subpoenas would be handled through state channels.

The council did not take a vote on the contract at this meeting. Staff said the town will continue discussions with the vendor and return to the council with draft contract language and an evaluation plan for measuring safety outcomes and whether the cameras meet agreed benchmarks.