‘Speed Cameras’ up, on Marine Drive

See where these cameras are located, and why they were installed – one of them in outer East Portland – and when they’ll start issuing real speeding tickets …

Here in the northeast edge of Wilkes neighborhood, a speed camera system stands ready to catch and ticket speeders.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Having a been designated a “High Crash Corridor” by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), NE Marine Drive received “Speed Safety Cameras” in late February.

In outer East Portland, one of the two-camera, pole-mounted systems is located near NE 138th Avenue, on the north side of the street. According to PBOT information, “a traffic study found 485 vehicles a day driving at least 10 mph over the speed limit of 45 mph” at that location.

Speed-sensing signs like these foretell the approaching “Speed Safety Cameras” – giving drivers the opportunity to slow down before getting a ticket.

The other set of cameras is installed near NE 33rd Avenue, where another traffic study showed that nearly 1,000 vehicles per day have been driving at least 10 mph over the speed limit.

More Marine Drive crash statistics:

More than 10 out of 350 crashes result in a fatality
The percentage of “lane-departure crashes” along Marine Drive is more than three times higher than elsewhere, citywide, over the last 10 years: 17 percent, versus 5.5 percent citywide.

Some drivers seem oblivious that they are driving past an automatic speed-sensing and ticketing device on the utility pole.

Last year, PBOT installed speed safety cameras on SE 122nd Avenue and SE Division Street. Since that installation, the average speeds of vehicles travelling on these streets have decreased substantially, PBOT said. [To read our story about those cameras, CLICK HERE]

Here’s how it works: When a vehicle goes faster than the posted speed limit past a speed ticketing camera, the system snaps photos and video for review by Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division.

An officer reviews the photographed violations before a citation is issued. Penalties are the same as a speeding violation caught by a “speed radar van”, or officer with a “speed gun”. The typical speeding citation in Oregon is a Class C violation (11 to 20 mph in excess of the speed limit), resulting in a “presumptive fine” of $170.

Until March 22, drivers speeding past the new “Speed Safety Cameras” on Marine drive will only receive a “warning” ticket, like this PBOT-supplied sample.

For now, the system is issuing “test tickets”, or warnings; but beware, real citations will flow from these devices, starting on the morning of March 22.

So, if speed you must, keep your eye out for the “speed ticket cameras” – or, perhaps a better idea, choose to drive the speed limit, and have one less thing to worry about.

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