Arlington County has expanded its school-zone speed camera network to 35 locations for the 2026-27 school year, adding 10 new cameras and moving cameras from three retired locations to other school zones. The cameras only issue tickets when flashing school-zone lights are active during student arrival and dismissal, and drivers caught speeding face a $100 civil fine billed directly to the vehicle's registered owner.
The expansion marks a 25% increase in cameras near schools. Arlington had 28 school-zone cameras during the 2024-25 school year; with three locations retired and 10 added this year, the countywide total rises by seven to 35, according to ARLnow. Nine of the 10 new cameras are clustered in North Arlington, while the lone new camera south of Route 50 sits on 2nd Street South in Arlington Heights, the outlet reports.
How Arlington Picks Camera Locations
County officials weigh crash history, vehicle speeds and volumes, school walk-zone coverage and equity areas when deciding where to place new cameras, per the same ARLnow report. Drivers caught by the new or relocated units won't be billed immediately — the county issues a 30-day warning period before fines kick in, the outlet notes.
Under Virginia law, a speed safety camera may be placed and operated in a school crossing zone, highway work zone, high-risk speed corridor or National Parkway without further local approval, according to the Virginia Code. Placement outside those designated areas requires an ordinance from the local governing body.
Nearly 48,000 Tickets Last School Year
The scale of the enforcement is already significant. Arlington's school-zone cameras generated 47,914 tickets and 8,190 warnings during the 2024-25 school year, the same ARLnow report states. Vehicles that received a ticket were traveling an average of 32.85 mph, compared to 19.95 mph for all traffic passing the cameras, the article notes.
Those figures track closely with numbers cited in a separate WJLA report on a 2026 Virginia State Police review, which found the Arlington County Police Department recorded 47,914 violations and 36,153 successful prosecutions during the reporting period. Civil penalties tied to those successful prosecutions totaled more than $3.6 million, according to the station.
Speed Changes at Camera Sites
Earlier data from specific camera sites shows more modest, uneven gains. Average vehicle speeds near Randolph Elementary School fell from 24.45 mph during the warning period to 21.53 mph once cameras went live, according to a prior ARLnow report. At Washington-Liberty High School, average speeds dropped by about 1.2 mph, from 24.54 mph to 23.3 mph, while at Campbell Elementary School speeds fell from 25.67 mph to 24.31 mph but remained above the posted 20 mph limit, the same report found.
Nearby Fairfax County, which runs its own speed camera pilot, points to broader research backing the approach. “Studies indicate that speed camera enforcement is effective in improving safety by reducing speeding, accidents and injuries,” according to Fairfax County, which frames its program as a tool to deter dangerous driving behavior near its own schools.
