Speed on green? It’ll cost you green

Starting at midnight tonight, motorists nabbed by a speed-on-green camera at Arizona Avenue and Ray Road will have to pay a fine, marking the end of warnings for drivers caught speeding.

GRAPHIC: Map of speed-on-green cameras

Tickets and fines will be issued to people speeding 11 mph or more over the speed limit.

The speed-on-green camera is the first of 12 cameras to be installed at dangerous intersections in Chandler.

A speed-on-green camera at Rural and Ray roads is next in line and will be activated by the end of July, said Jay Heiler, director for government affairs at Redflex Traffic Systems. The Scottsdale company operates the cameras through a contract with the city.

For the last 30 days, police offered a warning period for most drivers but were surprised by the high numbers of warnings mailed out, said Chandler police Cmdr. Matt Christensen.

The camera caught 2,284 drivers speeding, resulting in 1,309 people receiving a warning in the mail, Christensen said. Hundreds of people received no warning because police need a clear picture of the vehicle’s license plate and the driver’s face to hold the motorist accountable.

During this period, people who traveled 20 mph or more over the speed limit of 35 mph at the intersection were asked to pay a fine.

Arizona Avenue and Ray Road is one of the city’s top intersections for collisions, Christensen said. He added they have found that many speeders were traveling southbound on Arizona Avenue, so the city placed the speed-on-green camera there to monitor this traffic.

The speed-on-green cameras will go up at various stages over the next year depending on construction, said city transportation engineer Mike Mah. Many of the intersections will also have red-light cameras. This means drivers who are speeding and running red lights could face two citations.

A speed-reader board forewarns southbound drivers on Arizona Avenue of their speed before they reach the intersection. This element, coupled with the camera, is aimed at slowing drivers and preventing serious injuries that occur in traffic wrecks.

“I believe that (speed on green) will absolutely increase the safety of drivers in Chandler,” Christensen said.