Traffic-speed cameras going up in front of three Hopewell schools where leadfooting is a problem

Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index
·2 min read
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Soon, speed-enforcement cameras will be placed in front of Carter G. Woodson Middle School, Hopewell High School and Harry E. James Elementary School. A recent speed study showed motorists were more likely to go faster through those school zones during drop-off and pickup times. Violators can expect to pay $100 civil fines if caught on camera.
Soon, speed-enforcement cameras will be placed in front of Carter G. Woodson Middle School, Hopewell High School and Harry E. James Elementary School. A recent speed study showed motorists were more likely to go faster through those school zones during drop-off and pickup times. Violators can expect to pay $100 civil fines if caught on camera.

HOPEWELL – If your foot is heavy driving through school zones, then expect your wallet to be lighter.

Tuesday night, Hopewell City Council unanimously approved a resolution to have speed-check cameras installed in front of three schools. These cameras would watch car traffic during student drop-off and pickup times, and grab photos of license plates on cars doing at least 10 mph over the posted speed limit.

Fines per violation are $100 and would be considered civil fees. That means the ticket would not go on the speeder’s permanent driving record or affect their insurance costs.

The contract with Altumint, a Maryland-based automatic traffic enforcement company, will not cost Hopewell a dime to implement, Marty Plank, vice president of sales for the company, told council. The agreement is cooperative, meaning that Altumint is paid not by the number of violations it clocks but by the value of the product.

“It’s very cost-neutral,” Plank said.

The cameras will go up at Hopewell High School, Carter G. Woodson Middle School and Harry E. James Elementary School. Enforcement signs will be placed within 1,000 feet of the schools.

Plank said those three were chosen after the company did a speed study of all the schools and found the most violations there.

All three are located on main traffic arteries in the city – HHS on South Mesa Drive, Woodson on Winston Churchill Drive and HEJ on Arlington Road.

The study statistics showed more than 800 drivers going over the 10 mph-posted limit at drop-off and dismissal times. More than 500 of them were in front of Woodson, Plank said.

Furthermore, Plank said that over a three-day period at Woodson, more than 1,000 cars were going at least 21 mph over the posted limit.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 90% of pedestrians hit by a car going 20 mph are likely to survive. That number drops to 50% at a 30-mph speed and 10% at 40 mph.

Hopewell will be Altumint’s ninth client in Virginia and the second in the Tri-City area after Petersburg. Other locations are in Suffolk, Harrisonburg, Winchester and Portsmouth; Essex County; and the towns of Altavista in Campbell County and Hurt in Pittsylvania County.

Plank said the company plans a massive info campaign to introduce the service to Hopewell. Once the cameras go up, there will be a 30-day grace period where drivers will receive warnings instead of citations.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell plans to install speed cameras at three city schools