The City of Chattanooga is moving forward with street improvements to enhance driver and pedestrian safety.
Traffic cameras have been installed at Orchard Knob Elementary School and Brainerd High School to help ensure the 15 mile-per-hour school zone speed limit is abided. These school zones have flashing beacons in place to warn drivers.
- Orchard Knob Elementary School (Eastbound) at East 3rd Street and Stanley Street
- Orchard Knob Elementary School (Westbound) on East 3rd Street past North Willow Street
- Brainerd High School (Northbound) on North Moore Road
- Brainerd High School (Southbound) on North Moore Road
The cameras are scheduled to be activated and monitored by the Chattanooga Police Department on Oct. 6. This will kick off a 30-day warning period, after which drivers violating the speed limit in these school zones will receive a citation with a fine of $50.
“School zone cameras are about protecting kids, not issuing tickets,” said CPD Chief of Police John Chambers. “We know that when school zones are enforced with cameras, drivers slow down, improving safety for everyone.”
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), crashes are more likely at high speeds because it takes longer to slow down or stop. A pedestrian hit by a vehicle at 30 miles-per-hour only has a 50% chance of survival.
“Additional school zones will be considered following both internal and third-party traffic studies,” said Kenneth Doyle, Transportation Project Manager with the Intelligent Cities Division at the City of Chattanooga. “Our vendor, NovoaGlobal Inc., is working with city officials to install the automated speed enforcement technology in the school zones most in need of this additional safety measure.”
In addition, the city has installed five new smart streetlights at five locations on existing streetlight poles:
- Central Ave. and 13th St.
- Central Ave. and Oak St.
- 3rd St. at Derby St.
- 3rd St. and Collins St.
- 3rd St. and N. Highland Park Ave.
These streetlights are positioned at mid-block pedestrian painted crosswalks for the purpose of increasing safety of pedestrians when they are crossing. In addition, they provide real-time video coverage to enhance safety, along with data to connect with Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (CV2X) technology.
“Working with our vendor, Juganu, to install these streetlights is part of the city’s ongoing effort to improve pedestrian safety and provide the foundation for connected mobility with real-time communication between vehicles, infrastructure and people,” said Ryan Huddleston, Director of the Intelligent Cities Division at the City of Chattanooga.