San Francisco residents optimistic that speed cameras will lead to drivers slowing down

By Kenny Choi

Speed cameras across the city are doling out citations at an unprecedented rate, according to data from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and residents say they’re hopeful it’ll lead to increased pedestrian safety.

San Francisco resident Frank Murphy lives in the Inner Richmond and is one of thousands who has received a citation.

“I got a warning citation in the mail a couple weeks ago, and I was like, ‘Oh no, it’s going to be expensive.’ It was just a warning. I was like, ‘OK, good,'” said Murphy.  

Murphy walks his dog daily near the intersection of Geary and 7th, where the SFMTA activated one of 33 speed safety cameras across the city last March. CBS News Bay Area asked Murphy if he thinks the cameras are making a difference.

“I don’t know that they’re making a difference, but I do support them. I think they should make a difference,” said Murphy. 

Residents in the neighborhood, including May Yi, say they’ve noticed the flashing lights from these cameras, identifying license plates of speeding cars. She hopes these citations will force drivers to slow down. 

“I’m crossing the street and (cars) come right behind you and then make that left turn or something — Close calls,” said Yi. 

The latest SFMTA city data shows that more than 90,000 speed tickets have been issued by the cameras in the first five months since the system began issuing citations in August. That’s a stark contrast to the 20,000 plus traffic tickets issued by San Francisco Police in all of last year.

Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk SF, said while there was an initial surge in speed camera tickets, there’s another trend.

“Take the last quarterly data that came out, tickets given in October, there were fewer in November, and fewer in December.  So, people are changing their behavior,” said Medeiros.  

“There’s also data that shows that people aren’t getting multiple tickets so they’re aware that they need to slow down, and that is the trend that we want to see,” said Medeiros. 

Other cities across the state, including Oakland and San Jose either have, or are in the process of implementing similar speed camera systems like San Francisco.

“We need all the cities to get online and to really start seeing the data for us to be able to go back to Sacramento and maybe expand the legislation,” said Medeiros. 

That expansion, if pursued by safety advocates, could mean more cameras in the future than what is currently allowed under state law based on population. 

“I think people do drive too fast in certain areas, and they’ll start to notice where these things are, and slow down,” said Murphy. 

For Murphy, the initial rollout is a step in the right direction to protect pedestrians.  

SFMTA says the speed safety camera systems are working as intended and hopes to see citations continue to decline after the initial surge. Tickets are civil penalties and do not add points to a driver’s record.

Assembly Bill 645 passed in 2023 allows up to six California cities to participate. Three Southern California cities including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Glendale are in planning stages for the rollout.