School Zone Speed Safety Camera Program to Expand in Arlington County

Installment of new speed safety cameras has begun in Arlington County school zones as a tool to deter speeding and increase overall transportation safety as students arrive and depart from school each day. In total, 8 additional cameras will be installed by January 6, 2025, the start of school after winter break, expanding the program’s safety efforts within Arlington’s network of school zones.

The expanded PhotoSPEED program cameras will be installed at the following locations:

• NB 700 block of N. George Mason Drive
• NB 1600 block of N. Glebe Road
• WB 4100 block of Lorcom Lane
• SB 2500 block of S. Arlington Ridge Road
• EB 5800 block of Williamsburg Boulevard
• SB 1000 block of N. McKinley Road
• EB 3500 block of 2nd Street S.
• NB 1600 block of N. Veitch Street

There will be a warning period designed to help raise public awareness about the new speed camera locations and encourage driver compliance with posted speed limits. The warning period for these new cameras will be January 6 – February 4, 2025. Tickets for violations at these locations will be issued beginning February 5, 2025. At the conclusion of the warning period, speed zone violators will be issued a $100 ticket (civil fine) per infraction to the vehicle’s registered owner.

PhotoSPEED Location Selection and Enforcement
Arlington County identified school zone locations within the county that would most benefit from automated safety devices in accordance with the County’s Vision Zero safety program. PhotoSPEED locations were then selected using safety data sources. These school zones will be actively reviewed and assessed by County staff to evaluate the safety impacts of the cameras and guide the development and future of the PhotoSPEED program.Speed safety cameras are operational when the school zone lights are flashing during school arrival and departure. The cameras take digital images and video footage of vehicles traveling in excess of the posted speed limit. The contracted company reviews and validates the footage before sending it to the Arlington County Police Department. An officer then reviews the footage captured by the system and events that are determined to be a speed violation result in a ticket.

PhotoSPEED Program Background
The PhotoSPEED program launched in August at the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year with 10 cameras in various school zones throughout Arlington County. In the first two months of the PhotoSPEED program following the conclusion of the warning period, 10,721 speeding tickets have been issued for violations at speed safety cameras. The current program locations are below and speeding violations in these areas will result in a ticket:

• NB 1300 block of N. Kirkwood Road
• WB 5800 block of Wilson Boulevard
• SB 400 block of N. George Mason Drive
• SB 600 block of S. Carlin Springs Road
• SB Unit block of S. Carlin Springs Road
• SB 1900 block of S. George Mason Drive
• NB 1900 block of S George Mason Drive
• SB 1200 block of S. George Mason Drive
• EB 4500 block of Washington Boulevard
• EB 5200 block of Yorktown Boulevard

PhotoSPEED is part of Arlington County’s Automated Safety Enforcement Program and supports the County’s Vision Zero program efforts. The Vision Zero Action Plan is in its fourth year of implementation as the County works toward the goal of eliminating severe injuries and fatalities in our transportation network by 2030. The plan identifies automated speed enforcement as a tool to lower speeds and enhance equity in enforcement. Find more information on the Vision Zero webpage, including maps and safety data, safety project implementation, and community engagement.