As of Wednesday, automated speed cameras in Oakland had been installed at 18 locations across some of the city’s most dangerous road sections. That’s according to city officials, who held a press conference this morning at the corner of Broadway and 27th Street to celebrate the start of the cameras’ 60-day warning period, after which ticketing is set to begin.
Officials said the speed camera locations were chosen based on a combination of historical crash data and speed studies across Oakland’s High Injury Network that found some locations experienced more than 10,000 vehicles traveling at least 11 miles per hour above the speed limit in a single day.
The cameras will ticket any vehicle that exceeds the speed limit by 11 miles an hour or more. Vehicles speeding between 11 and 15 miles per hour above the limit will receive a $50 fine, with fines rising according to speed to a maximum fine of $500 for speeders exceeding 100 miles an hour.
The black speed cameras, from Verra Mobility, rise above the street and focus on a “sweet spot” of about 100 feet. Credit: Jose Fermoso for The Oaklandside
At today’s event, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said she was excited to add a new technology to the city’s streets to encourage people to slow down.
“Traffic safety is public safety,” she said. “With this initiative, we are actively addressing speeding to save lives.”
The mayor said the two-month trial period will give people the opportunity to become accustomed to the system and change their behavior. She also addressed criticism that the cameras would disproportionately affect low-income people, noting that anyone ticketed can request financial assistance. Slower speeds also benefit minority communities, especially Black residents who are more likely to suffer a serious injury from collisions than any other demographic group.
To address privacy concerns and potential law enforcement overreach, each violation will be transmitted to the camera vendor, who will then forward it to Oakland transportation department staff for review, to ensure there are no false positives. The Oakland Police Department will not have access to the camera data.
”When we first started this pilot, OPD made it clear they wanted nothing to do with this,” Josh Rowan, the city’s transportation director, said at the meeting. “We came out early and said, ‘If something happens, [we’re] responsible.’”
Rowan said the cameras were a way to remind people that pedestrians are disproportionately affected by dangerous speeding and that lowering those speeds is part of a necessary culture shift.
“Speeding is a conscious choice drivers make,” he said. “Our culture and driving behavior lead to speeding. We all have a decision to make when we get in a car. When you look around, you see a culture centered on cars. Look at your speedometer. You’re not going to get there faster. Drive the speed limit.”
District 2 Councilmember Charlene Wang also spoke at the event, saying she was “so glad” the speed cameras were going up.
Chris Hwang, the executive director of the advocacy organization Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, said she saw the new cameras as one part of a suite of city-wide solutions that were making the city safer. Recent additions to the city’s infrastructure championed by advocates include new speed bumps and traffic-slowing bollards.
The design of the Verra Mobility speed cameras weirdly resembles the Johnny 5 character from Tri-Star Pictures’ 1980s classic “Short Circuit” movies. Credit: Tri-Star Pictures, Jose Fermoso
Employees of Verra Mobility, the speed camera vendor, were on hand. They noted that their cameras, which reminded some Gen X observers of the head of Johnny 5, the main robot character in the 1980s movie “Short Circuit” — are hardwired into the city’s utility poles. According to Verra Mobility communications officer Valerie Schneider, the cameras take pictures of a vehicle’s rear license plates after observing a car exceeding the speed limit. The “sweet spot” of speeding recognition is about 100 feet away from the camera zone.
At each camera location in Oakland, there are two Verra Mobility speed cameras, one facing each side of the road.
Schneider said that a previous installation of their hardware in New York City led to speed reductions of up to 94%.
The speed cameras in Oakland are part of a pilot program approved by California legislators in 2024 that will run for a few years; their success or failure will determine whether the pilot is expanded. Other cities participating in the pilot include San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Glendale, and Long Beach.
Oakland speed camera locations:
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