The Durango Police Department hopes to install automated speed enforcement cameras by summer.
The initiative was developed in response to residents’ concerns about speeding. While the plan has faced pushback on social media, city officials and police argue that much of the criticism is misguided and say they intend to move forward once City Council gives its approval.
The cameras would be installed in various neighborhoods as a safety measure and help supplement patrol efforts when officers are not available for in-person traffic enforcement.
“Our goal is to enhance road safety while addressing the specific areas identified by data,” said Police Chief Brice Current in a news release. “We need a deterrent that limits high speeds in Durango.
“This initiative was driven by the voices of Durango residents,” he said.
The city gathered input through its online community feedback platform, asking residents whether they supported speed cameras and where they should be placed. Ninety-five residents requested cameras at various locations. The most frequently mentioned areas included East Third Avenue, neighborhoods near Fort Lewis College and Animas View Drive.
Residents of Animas View Drive have long sought solutions to speeding in their neighborhood.
Karola Hanks, a resident of Animas View Drive, said she is surprised by how many of her neighbors fear walking in the area. Many cut through yards to reach the Animas River Trail rather than risk walking along the road, Hanks said.
In fall 2023, a young woman was struck and killed by a car while walking her dog in the area.
A community engagement meeting was held in response to the accident. Attendees were surveyed about whether they supported installing automated speed cameras, and 69% said yes, city spokesman Tom Sluis said.
Hanks attended the meeting and said she received the first standing ovation of her life after she spoke in favor of the cameras.
“It’s probably the quickest and easiest method of slowing vehicles down on Animas View Drive to make it safe for people both driving, walking and riding their bike,” she said.
While Hanks acknowledged that adding sidewalks, curb stops and gutters would address residents’ concerns, she said the cost and timeline of such projects make cameras the most practical immediate solution.
But not all residents support the plan. Many people voiced strong opposition in Facebook comments on the city’s announcement.
Critics argued the cameras infringe on privacy, raised concerns they would serve as a revenue generator and questioned the city’s claim that residents support the initiative.
“This is not a cash grab by the city. This is not a source of revenue,” Sluis said. Because the system is operated by a third-party vendor, it will not cost the city money, he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about privacy risks associated with automated data collection. Some vendors, the ACLU notes, capture and store license plate data from all passing vehicles, not just speeders.
Some companies store that data in private databases shared with law enforcement agencies nationwide, creating a system that tracks people’s comings and goings across the country.
DPD emphasized the cameras it plans to install would not function continuously. They would remain inactive until a speeding vehicle is detected. Only data collected from vehicles exceeding the speed limit would be recorded – nothing more.
All of the camera vendors police are considering run the captured license plates through the FBI National Crime Information Center, said Durango Police Department Cmdr. Jacob Dunlap.
It is the same process that occurs when an officer issues a speeding ticket in person, said Chief of Police Brice Current.
“Anytime we run anything to dispatch or on our computers or anything in any police function, there’s record of it,” he said. “And there’s very specific rules and guidelines that everyone has to follow.”
The license plate data would be stored in a database created by the camera vendor for the exclusive use of the DPD, Dunlap said.
Chief of Police Brice Current said Colorado law prohibits third-party vendors from using the collected data for purposes other than speed enforcement.
The law also requires all collected photographs and video of a violation be destroyed within three years.
“I totally understand people's (privacy) concern, and I think it reflects the fact that in today’s day and age, people feel that their privacy is impacted from many, many sides,” Hanks said. “But in this case, I feel very different because it’s about safety. It’s not about wanting to know things about people, or spying on people, or those things. It’s about trying to keep the residents and the people who vote here safe.”
City Council must approve amendments to city ordinances before police can finalize the specifics of the automated enforcement program – namely the choice of camera vendor and the placement locations.
Tickets issued by automated speed cameras are considered civil, not criminal offenses, because they require a lower burden of proof. Because the tickets are administered without the presence of a police officer, they do not meet the evidence requirements required for criminal offenses.
Because the tickets are civil offenses, no points would be deducted from offenders’ driver’s licenses; rather, it would be a $40 fine that could be doubled to $80 in school zones and construction zones.
Colorado law protects car owners from aggressive collection efforts. Courts must serve people with unpaid tickets a notice of their violation before referring them to a collections agency.
Because the law prohibits placement of cameras on state and federal highways, no cameras would be placed on Camino del Rio (U.S. Highway 550); they would be relegated to the neighborhoods.
City Council was originally scheduled to discuss and finalize the initiative on Tuesday, but it was postponed until April. The delay was intended to give police additional time to finalize the system’s implementation process and ensure the rollout won’t create confusion for the public or the courts, Sluis said, not because of the negative reactions on social media.
“We have a responsibility to our constituents, and we have a responsibility to the people who live in the neighborhoods,” he said. “And if we did, for example, just rely on social media posts to kind of get a sense of what the values were, they wouldn’t necessarily reflect what’s happening within the city.”
If approved, camera placement would be determined using a combination of resident feedback and traffic studies, Dunlap said.
Dunlap said police are looking at implementing both a fixed system – permanently mounted cameras – and a mobile trailer.
Once installed, the public would have a 30-day grace period in which only warnings for traffic violations detected by the new system would be issued.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
A previous version of this story erred in saying the data collected from third-party speed enforcement cameras would be kept in a database that is accessible to federal law enforcement. The data would be accessible only by the Durango Police Department.
