Aug. 7, 2007
Contact: Pat Dodds, Public Affairs Officer, (480) 312-2336
Loop 101 Freeway photo enforcement demo project
named finalist for municipal excellence award
Scottsdale’s Loop 101 Freeway photo enforcement demonstration project, recently transferred to state control, is a finalist for a National League of Cities program recognizing excellence in government.
The project is one of 35 finalists in the 2007 Awards for Municipal Excellence, a competition recognizing outstanding programs that have improved the quality of life in cities and towns.
Preliminary results from an Arizona State University study of the program – the first to use fixed cameras on a U.S. freeway -- showed that the technology reduced the overall number and severity of collisions and reduced average speeds by about 10 mph. Surveys also indicated public support for the program topped 70 percent in Scottsdale and 60 percent statewide.
“Scottsdale has demonstrated the leadership, creativity and innovation that the Awards for Municipal Excellence promote,” said Donald J. Borut, NLC’s executive director.
Scottsdale began the program in January 2006, then covered the cameras the following October to monitor speeds while they were off. The city saw a ten-fold increase in the number of vehicles driving 11 mph or more over the 65 mph speed limit.
At the request of Governor Napolitano, Scottsdale resumed operating the program in February and has now transferred control to the Department of Public Safety. Six cameras are posted along the freeway between Scottsdale Road and the 90th Street/Pima Road exit.
The city initiated the program in response to complaints from residents about excessive speeds on the freeway. The city worked in cooperation with the Office of the Governor and the state departments of Transportation and Public Safety.
A preliminary analysis by Simon Washington, an ASU engineering professor, showed that the program produced lower speeds along the segment where cameras were in use. Though there was an uptick in rear-end collisions, the overall number of collisions fell and the severity of the collisions decreased.
NLC received 168 nominations from cities and towns in 37 states and Puerto Rico. A complete list of finalists is available at http://www.nlc.org/articles/articleitems/NCW80607/excawardsfinalists.aspx. Scottsdale is among 11 cities with populations of 150,000 to 500,000 nominated for the award. Two other Arizona cities – El Mirage and Peoria – garnered nominations in other population categories.
Finalists are chosen on the basis of their success in a variety of areas -- as public-private partnerships, productive citizen and community collaborations, effective management of municipal resources, innovative government policies, projects that produce tangible results and projects that can be replicated in other communities.
NLC is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to municipal government.