A plan by Mayor Steve Noble to install automated speed enforcement technology in Kingston’s school zones took a critical step forward this week after state lawmakers approved a home rule resolution clearing the way for the new program. The bill was carried by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-Saugerties) and Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha (D-Esopus) in their respective chambers.

In a statement touting the vote — which came on the last day of the legislative session — Shrestha called the speed-camera initiative the first in a series of steps she hopes to take to improve traffic safety in her 103rd Assembly District.

“There have been 15 fatal crashes in Kingston alone from 2005-2021, and while this pilot is a good start, we plan to do much more for traffic safety,” Shrestha wrote. “For example, exploring possibilities for similar initiatives in other parts of the district, including Red Hook, Saugerties and New Paltz where recent accidents have occurred, and pushing our bills to give our towns, villages and cities more control over local roads for the purpose of saving lives.”

The plan calls for the installation of speed-tracking cameras in three school zones within the city. The devices would log the license plates of school speed zone violators and automatically send the car’s registered owner a traffic ticket. It will be up to the Common Council to determine the penalty for violations, but at an April meeting of the Common Council’s Public Safety and General Government Committee, Noble said in other jurisdictions, fines are typically between $50 and $100. The ticket would be a non-moving violation and would not result in any points on the vehicle owner’s driver’s license.

Noble said the idea of school zone speed cameras came to him after he read an article about New York City’s network of 750 speed enforcement cameras. Noble told the committee members that incidents of speeding in school zones had fallen by 90 percent after the devices were installed. Noble likened the cameras to stationing a police patrol car to monitor every school zone in the city.

“It really amps up the protection we can provide without having to hire a dozen new police officers at a very large expense,” said Noble.