Laura Glesby Photo
Legislation Chair and Wooster Square Alder Ellen Cupo advocates for the camera-and-fine system.
Backup is on the way for the unfolding red stop signs tasked with protecting kids who hop aboard yellow school buses.
The Board of Alders passed a new law on Monday evening enabling the city to install cameras on school buses, and then to impose $250 fines on drivers who illegally pass those buses when they are dropping off or picking up young passengers.
The legislation enables the city to install traffic cameras on school buses in order to identify cars illegally driving past a stopped school bus. The owner of an identified car will have 30 days to appeal the ticket before an independent hearing officer.
Currently, if a police officer directly witnesses a car violating a school bus stop sign, the driver can be pulled over and fined $475.
The goal, said Legislation Committee Chair and Wooster Square Alder Ellen Cupo as she advocated for the law on Monday night, is to “change drivers’ behavior” by way of stricter enforcement — and, ultimately, to protect some of the city’s youngest and smallest pedestrians from impatient drivers.
Once the law is signed by the mayor, the city will need to solicit a private vendor to implement the camera system. Read more about the legislation here.
(Update) Mayor Justin Elicker released a statement lauding the legislation, which was proposed by his administration. “Every school day, 330 school buses transport over 17,400 students and we want every one of our students to have a safe commute to and from school.
“When my wife and I put our two daughters on their bus every school day,
all too often we see drivers blow through the school bus stop sign and
flashing lights. Unfortunately, many other parents have that same experience. It’s terrifying, it’s potentially tragic, and it needs to stop.”
“We’re hopeful this will encourage more responsible driving and help keep our
kids safe,” Elicker wrote.
Thomas Breen file photo