Minneapolis launches pilot program with cameras to catch speeding
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Starting Oct. 1, Minneapolis will now have speed cameras at five accident-prone locations across the city for the first time.
The traffic camera safety pilot program is aimed at saving lives and preventing reckless driving, said Mayor Jacob Frey. It's part of what the city calls Vision Zero, an initiative to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries from Minneapolis streets.
If a driver is speeding at one of the locations, the traffic camera sensor records it and takes a photo of the driver’s license plate. That image is sent in the mail and the driver could possibly get a ticket, Frey said.
“Importantly, and I want to be clear on this, the cameras are only able to capture the images of the plate,” he said. “They will not capture any facial information or beyond. It’s about safety, not surveillance.”
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Frey said next year the city will add 11 cameras that will be a combination of speeding and red light cameras.
The city’s Director of Public Works Tim Sexton explained the nuts and bolts of the program.
During the first month of the pilot, the city will only issue warnings, not citations, to drivers, he said.
Starting Nov. 1, the city will issue citations to drivers going 10 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit. Sexton said a warning will be issued on the first offense.
After the first warning, the city will issue a $40 fine to repeat offenders. Fines increase to $80 for drivers going 20 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit.
There’s an option for drivers early on; instead of taking the fee for their first citation, they could also instead opt to take a free traffic safety class.
“An important note too about these citations, though, is they will not be recorded on a driver’s record,” Sexton said.
“It is not meant to be a punitive response,” Sexton said. “It’s about changing dangerous driving behavior so our streets are safer in our lives and lives are ultimately saved,” he added.
The mayor and other city officials were joined by state lawmakers such as State Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, one of many that worked on legislation allowing for the pilot program.
“This is about saving lives and making our community safer, first and foremost,” said Mohamed, who worked on the legislation for three years. “The pilot is designed for it to not be punitive, but for it to be preventative. It’s also meant to change behavior.”
She said many drivers have been reckless especially since the pandemic.
State Sen. Scott Dibble, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the number of traffic deaths over the last few years have moved in the wrong direction in his estimation.
Dibble says in 2024, 477 people across Minnesota were killed, an increase of nearly 19 percent from 2023. This year so far, he says there have been 282 fatalities in the state.
In the last two years, more than 40 people have lost their lives on Minneapolis streets, which he said was due to speeding and reckless driving.
“Each one of those people is a beloved family member or friend. Each loss completely preventable,” Dibble said.
Mayor Frey said law enforcement officers can’t be everywhere all at once.
“At the heart of this idea is a really simple one, which is that we need to keep pedestrians safe,” Frey said. “This is a very big step for public safety in our city, [it’s] going to create stronger neighborhoods with plenty more to come.”
