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Here’s Where SF’s 33 Speed Cameras Will Be

Locations include 8 school sites, 12 parks, 11 social service sites, and 12 neighborhood commercial districts
By - posted 4/18/2024 No Comment

San Francisco is installing speed cameras around the city.

Why is San Francisco installing speed safety cameras?

In San Francisco, unsafe speed is one of the most common primary collision factors in crashes that result in injuries. Speeding is dangerous for myriad reasons: a driver’s field of vision is narrowed, reducing the likelihood that potential hazards can be seen and avoided, and drivers have less time to react and maneuver out of dangerous situations when travelling at higher speeds. Safely negotiating curves is also compromised.

It takes a vehicle a longer distance to stop for a hazard in the road the faster it is travelling. In the event of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian or bicyclist, the vehicle’s speed will largely determine the survivability of the crash. A person hit by a car traveling 20 mph has a 9 in 10 chance of surviving while a person hit by a car traveling at 40 mph only has a 2 in 10 chance of surviving.

How many speed cameras are coming to San Francisco?

The state law allows a proportional number of cameras to the city’s population. For San Francisco, there will be 33 locations with speed safety camera systems.

Where will the speed cameras be located?

> View the map

The data-driven process for selecting camera locations has identified 33 recommended speed camera locations. The law states that speed cameras can be placed on high-injury streets, in school zones, or on streets with a documented history of sideshows.

In San Francisco, the cameras will all be located on the High Injury Network, the 12% of San Francisco streets that account for more than 68% of traffic-related severe injuries or fatalities. These locations are in every corner of the city, in neighborhoods that may look different from one another, but all have vehicles traveling too fast. They are geographically distributed along San Francisco’s High Injury Network, with at least two cameras in each Supervisor’s district and at many key freeway touchdown points in the city.

These cameras will enforce lower speeds outside of eight school sites, 12 parks, 11 social service sites serving seniors and people with disabilities and 12 neighborhood commercial districts where many people walk or bike. Furthermore, the cameras will be located on streets that reflect the full diversity of San Francisco’s neighborhoods—the makeup of key socioeconomic characteristics in the 33 camera areas is roughly equal to the makeup of those indicators in San Francisco as a whole.

The cameras will be geographically dispersed among all 11 districts, in areas with a ride range of socioeconomic characteristics. The preliminary list of recommended speed safety safety camera locations includes:

  1. 3rd Street from Key Avenue to Jamestown Avenue
  2. 7th Street from Harrison to Folsom
  3. 9th Street from Bryant to Harrison
  4. 10th Street from Harrison to Folsom
  5. 16th Street from Bryant to Potrero
  6. Alemany from Farragut to Naglee
  7. Bay Street from Octavia to Gough
  8. Bayshore Boulevard from 101 off-ramp to Tunnel Avenue
  9. Broadway from Powell to Stockton
  10. Bryant from 2nd to 3rd Street
  11. Cesar Chavez from Folsom to Harrison
  12. Cesar Chavez from Indiana to Tennessee
  13. Columbus Avenue from Lombard to Greenwich
  14. Embarcadero from Green to Battery
  15. Franklin Street from Union to Green
  16. Fulton from Arguello to 2nd Avenue
  17. Fulton from 42nd Avenue to 43rd Avenue
  18. Geary from 7th Avenue to 8th Avenue
  19. Geary from Webster to Buchanan
  20. Geneva from Prague to Brookdale
  21. Guerrero from 19th Street to 20th Street
  22. Harrison from 4th Street to 5th Street
  23. King Street (NB only) from 4th Street to 5th Street
  24. Lincoln from 27th Avenue to 28th Avenue
  25. Market Street from Danvers to Douglass
  26. Mission Street from 8th Street to 9th Street
  27. Mission Street from Ottawa to Allison
  28. Monterey Boulevard from Edna to Congo
  29. Ocean Avenue from Friday Kahlo to Howth
  30. San Jose Avenue from 29th Street to 30th Street
  31. San Jose Avenue from Santa Ynez to Ocean Avenue
  32. Sloat Boulevard from 41st Avenue to Skyline
  33. Turk from Van Ness to Polk

What speed will trigger a notification of violation? 

The state law specifies this; any speeding 11 miles per hour or over the posted speed limit would trigger a violation. Notifications of violations will be mailed to the registered owner of the speeding vehicle within two weeks of the violation.

When will the cameras be turned on? 

The cameras will begin issuing violations in 2025, but there are many steps that must be completed before then. Here’s what the lead-up to cameras being activated looks like:

  • Late 2023: Finalize data collection on the High-Injury Network to determine camera locations. The recommended list of 33 camera locations will be released in early 2024.
  • Early 2024: Secure multiple project approvals through the SFMTA Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors, including:
    • Project-specific legislation: In order to select a single vendor for the design, construction, and operation of a camera system, the Board of Supervisors must approve an exception to the Administrative Code. This project-specific legislation will enable the project to pursue a DBOM (design/build/operate/maintain) contract.
    • Surveillance authorization: In order to add a new type of surveillance technology in San Francisco, a System Use Policy and a System Impact Report must be approved by the Committee on Information Technology (COIT) and the Board of Supervisors. Once the Board of Supervisors approves these documents, staff can begin the contracting process.
  • Mid to Late 2024: SFMTA issues an RFQ/RFP, selects a vendor to implement camera technology and operate the camera system, and negotiates a contract. The chosen vendor designs and builds 33 camera system sites throughout the city.
  • Early 2025: Construction concludes. A month-long public education campaign kicks off. Cameras are calibrated and tested.
  • 2025: Once cameras are activated, the first two months of system operations will issue warning notices to speeding vehicles. After 60 days, cameras will begin issuing fines to speeding vehicles.

Read more at SFMTA

Thanks KRON4 for the scoop