Beware of the Camera; Or Open Your Pocketbook
Rick Langenberg.
The days of having a Green Mountain Falls racetrack through town, with many motorists roaring well above the posted speed limit, could soon screech to a halt.
But instead of relying on GMF law enforcement officials to pull locals and visitors over in record fashion, a tactic attempted a number of years ago in a move that generated much controversy, the town will rely on a sophisticated, automated camera equipment system, monitored by a third-party operator, the Louisiana-based Meta Traffic company, to do the ticketing.
The end result is the same: Unless motorists slow down while driving across Ute Pass Avenue in town and even cruising east on Hwy. 24, they could face a serious dent in their wallet.
“This not about making money,” stressed Green Mountain Falls Marshal Sean Goings at a public GMF city council meeting last week. “This is about public safety…We definitely have an issue with speeding.”
But instead of the more status quo manner of addressing the problem, town leaders have opted for a growing technique of using a sophisticated, automated camera equipment system to capture the antics of motorists, who are traveling way too fast through town and onto Hwy. 24 Due to a law passed in 2023, the state has authorized the use of this type of equipment to issue traffic citations. The law change was done partially to assure officer and motorist safety.
By a unanimous vote with no dissenters, the GMF Board of Trustees on Sept. 2 approved a professional services contract with Meta Traffic, which will own and operate the equipment, and signaled the green light for the speeding crackdown
The new system will be coordinated with the marshal, who will review images of violations. If he sees no problems with these reports, the go-ahead will occur for Meta Traffic to mail out speeding citations to alleged violators and pursue the process of collecting the fines. Reported speeding violators have the option of protesting these citations and taking their cases to court.
However, Goings cautioned that prior to any tickets being issued, the town will initiate a 30-day public education period, and then a 30-day warning period, prior to the big crackdown.
The marshal hopes that the publicity surrounding this new system will curb speeding behavior, especially in the downtown and pool park corridor. The town will initially operate with one camera, mounted on a trailer, stationed at a variety of locations throughout the week, according to Goings. The marshal maintained that motorists will know where the camera is located, as the system is not designed to trick motorists.
A Massive Speeding Problem
At their Sept. 2 meeting, Goings and officials from Meta released speed survey studies, tabulated with specialized equipment, that depicted alarming results. These were done on specific days at four main locations. The results indicated that GMF has a serious speeding problem with a hefty number of motorists exceeding the posted limited by 10-plus miles per hour. And in some cases, the top speeds had heads turning, such as motorists traveling 50-plus miles per hour downtown on Ute Pass Avenue, and close to 100 miles per hour on U.S. Hwy. 24 East, near the GMF intersection.
These results coincided with reports the trustees have received from business owners and residents.
Scott Fuqua, the chief executive officer of Meta, cited the automated camera system as a real game changer in dealing with this issue. More importantly, he noted that their system is done as a public safety measure for law officers and residents. “It is not worth the risk,” said Fuqua, who outlined the vast number of violent confrontations that occur between law officers and motorist over simple traffic citations. He even cited a growing number of cases of law officers getting shot over a speeding citation.
Goings echoed similar views and admitted he has experienced his share of physical confrontations regarding the issuing of traffic citations. Plus, the marshal mentioned the town’s limited manpower scenario, as a definite determining factor in implementing this system.
The trustees liked the idea, but just questioned the practicality aspects of the program, such as how many people actually pay their fines. Goings estimated that only about 1 percent of speeding-violators take their cases to court. The compliance percentage is extremely high, noted Meta officials.
The program will create an initial cost to the town. The equipment will be leased for $1,500 a month. But after the program gets underway, officials expect that the town could generate thousands of dollars in revenue, a portion of which is paid to Meta.
Goings, though, in a later interview stressed that the purpose of the program is to get people to reduce their speed when traveling through town. He hopes that this message will get conveyed, and that they only have to issue a limited number of citations. Fuqua noted that their program has often produced instant results, with a change in speeding behavior in many of the communities they have worked with at the outset.
Trustee John Bell, following last week’s meeting, believes the program will achieve the goals of trying to establish more public safety, while not turning Green Mountain Falls into a “speed trap.”
The town developed this reputation years ago, under the enforcement led by a former marshal. This generated a big showdown between law enforcement leaders and the elected trustees and often triggered a good amount of bad blood. A former town hall building was scorched by two out-of-town motorists, one of whom was outraged over a ticket he received.
The town, with a new administration, adopted a more toned-down effort to issue traffic citations. But in the last few years, more complaints have surfaced about speeders.
Goings sees this automated camera system as a growing trend in Colorado. He said the effort is still relatively new in the Pikes Peak region, but many more communities are using this approach.
