7 in 10 Valley residents back speed cameras
By Mike Sakal Tribune
As thousands of motorists continue to get caught speeding by photo enforcement cameras placed along city streets and one Valley freeway, results of a new survey found at least seven in 10 Valley residents support the devices.
In its latest in-house survey, WestGroup Click on the graphic to view the detailed results of the poll Research, a Phoenix-based marketing [http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/images/photos/2008/04/23/bh42w94.jpg]
research firm, polled 401 Valley residents on whether they think speed photo enforcement cameras are improving safety.
More than one-third, 36 percent of those polled, said they believed the devices were making an impact on safety, according to WestGroup, which said it conducted the survey in March without sponsorship from any outside agency or company. One-quarter of those polled said they did not believe the cameras were making a difference.
In an earlier report on Scottsdale's speed [http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/images/photos/2008/04/23/bh42w94.jpg]
photo enforcement program along an eight-mile stretch of Loop 101, Arizona State University's Simon Washington concluded the average speed dropped nearly 10 mph throughout the enforcement zone. There also were fewer overall crashes and a reduction in the severity of vehicle crashes, though rear-end collisions increased, Washington reported.
Overall, 72 percent of respondents in the WestGroup survey said they favored placing speed photo enforcement cameras along city streets while 70 percent backed freeway cameras. Slightly more than 25 percent opposed cameras on city streets while 24 percent opposed them on freeways.
"I was a little surprised the response was so favorable," said Melissa Skogan, a research analyst with the company.
WestGroup moved forward its photo enforcement survey after seeing heavy media coverage and the governor's push to continue installing photo enforcement cameras throughout the state, she said.
The survey had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 5 percent.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, the Scottsdale City Council voted to extend its agreement with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to keep the six Loop 101 photo enforcement cameras clicking through June. The plan is to operate the cameras - which started clocking drivers in February 2006 - until construction starts this summer on the next phase of the freeway car pool lane project. At that time, the cameras will go dark.
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4/24/2008