Philly Speed Camera Program Cuts Fatalities in Half

Traffic fatalities were cut in half along a Philadelphia boulevard after the city installed automated speed cameras. Writing in Smart Cities Dive, Dan Zukowski notes that Roosevelt Boulevard also saw a 90 percent reduction in excessive speeding in the seven months since the cameras’ installation.

The 12-lane highway through densely populated neighborhoods in Northeast Philadelphia has a posted speed limit of 45 mph. A Streetlight Data analysis found that before speed cameras, the mean speed along one segment where there have been many fatal crashes was 51 mph at 8 a.m. on an average Tuesday.

The total number of crashes on the street fell by 36 percent in a year, while that number only fell by 6 percent across the entire city. While average speeds continue to decline along the segments with cameras, other parts of the boulevard continue to pose a threat to pedestrians, warranting additional safety improvements, according to an analysis by Streetlight Data. “In 2023 the state secured a $14.5 million federal grant that will go toward curb extensions, realigned crosswalks and lane configurations, improved traffic signals and new or renovated transit stops along Roosevelt Boulevard.”