The conversation around road safety has ramped up in Milwaukee as officials weigh in on the potential implementation of traffic safety cameras. A recent public hearing put the spotlight on Senate Bill 375, the Safe Streets Save Lives Act, which could usher in a new era for traffic enforcement in the City of Milwaukee.
Under the proposed bipartisan legislation, led by Senator Dora Drake and co-sponsored by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Senator Cory Tomczyk, Milwaukee could deploy speed safety camera systems to track speed limit violations and use photographic systems to monitor traffic signal infractions. Should the bill pass, lawmakers have outlined the possibility of placing up to five cameras in each of the city's 15 aldermanic districts, according to a press release from the City of Milwaukee.
Advocates of the bill like Alderman Peter Burgelis, see the potential safety improvements as paramount. "This isn’t about tickets, it’s about tomorrow," Burgelis testified during the public hearing, emphasizing a forward-looking approach to city safety rather than a punitive one. Meanwhile, Alderman Mark Chambers, Jr. echoed the sentiment, highlighting the potential for greater equity with, "This bill is also about equity. African-Americans have double the fatal crash rates of their white counterparts. People simply walking in lower-income neighborhoods are three times more likely to be killed by a vehicle, and that standard should never be acceptable," as stated by the City of Milwaukee.
Traffic safety efforts are backed by data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, showing that fixed speed cameras cut total crashes by 54% and injury crashes by nearly half on city roads. With 29 states and Washington, D.C. already using them, Milwaukee’s move would follow a growing national trend toward safer streets through better monitoring, as per the City of Milwaukee.
