An unidentified motorist is pictured doing 72 mph in a 40 mph zone by the new speed camera on SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway.
Courtesy Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Up to now, speed cameras have only been allowed at dangerous stop lights and in vans police temporarily park on the shoulder.
But the state has now given Portland permission to put the cameras along high-crash corridors like SE Powell Boulevard and NE Marine Drive. Portland’s high-crash corridors make up 3 percent of roads but account for half of pedestrian fatalities.
Dylan Rivera with Portland’s Bureau of Transportation says drivers who know about the new cameras slow down dramatically.
He says 1,417 vehicles a day passed at 51 mph or faster before the camera. Now the camera has been there a while, only 93 vehicles a day passed at 51 mph or faster.
“We’ve had reports anecdotally of people driving Beaverton-Hillsdale and they say there are platoons of cars, all driving the same speed for hundreds of yards, like a synchronized dance,” he said.
The Beaverton-Hillsdale camera went live last month, but has only been sending warning letters. Starting Saturday, it’ll send tickets. They begin at $160. Proceeds can only go to pay for the cameras and road safety improvements.
