Speeders, you are now on camera at five Minneapolis intersections

With permission from the Legislature, Minneapolis turned on speed cameras at five intersections Wednesday, and leaders say their arrival is one piece of the city’s initiative to end deaths and severe injuries resulting from crashes.

Cameras snap photos of the rear license plate of cars detected going 10 mph or faster over the speed limit. The system then mails a ticket to the driver.

By next year, 11 more cameras are expected to be up and running. In addition to speeding, the cameras will be used to nab drivers running red lights. Under the pilot, the network of cameras could grow to as many as 42 in the next four years.

“Too many lives have been lost on our roads for no other reason that drivers simply have been going too fast,” said Tim Sexton, director of the Minneapolis Public Works Department. “It is about changing dangerous driving behavior so our streets are safe and ultimately lives are saved.”

More that 40 people have died in crashes in the past few years due to speeding, officials said.

“There has been a huge uptick in unsafe driving since the pandemic,” said state Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, who helped craft legislation allowing Minneapolis and Mendota Heights to install traffic enforcement cameras. “People are driving way too fast. I believe they will make our streets safer.”

Downtown Minneapolis resident Pearl Haley hopes so. For the past 15 years she has lived near 3rd Street and 1st Avenue N., where one of the cameras is located, and sees her share of lead-footed drivers.

On Tuesday, public works crews installed signs that read “Photo Enforced” to warn drivers cameras are operating on 18th Avenue near Central Avenue NE.; Chicago Avenue S. near E. Franklin Avenue; Nicollet Avenue S. near W. 46th Street, and 3rd Street near 1st Avenue N. in downtown.

For the first month, only warnings will be issued. Starting in November, citations will come with a $40 fine, which doubles to $80 for motorists going more than 20 mph over the speed limit. Drivers will be able to contest citations.

Studies have shown that speed cameras can reduce crashes on urban streets by up to 54% and cut crashes resulting in injuries by 48%, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Speeds drop around 10% or more around cameras, according to an analysis of 13 studies by the State Smart Transportation Initiative, a project of Smart Growth America at the University of Wisconsin.

Minneapolis tried using cameras to catch red-light runners in the 2000s but ended up shutting off what was called “Photo Cop” because it did not have legislative approval.