Automated speed cameras may be installed on roads near five Philadelphia schools as part of a proposed program to limit traffic crashes involving students.
Legislation introduced Thursday at City Council would create program to test using cameras in school zones. Drivers caught exceeding the 15 mph speed limit by at least 11 mph would be mailed speeding tickets.
Seven schools have been suggested as possible fits for the program, but only five could be in use at the same time. The schools up for consideration are:
| School | Location |
| William L. Sayre High School | 5800 Walnut St. |
| School of the Future | 4021 Parkside Ave. |
| Visitation B.V.M. School | 190 N. Trooper Road |
| KIPP North Philadelphia Charter School | 2539 N. 16th St. |
| John B. Stetson Middle School | 3200 B St. |
| Widener Memorial School | 1450 W. Olney Ave. |
| Northeast High School | 1601 Cottman Ave. |
Five children are hit by vehicles each week, on average, while walking in Philadelphia, according to the city's 2023 Vision Zero report.
Given those figures, "we must take bold and proactive steps to bolster traffic safety on dangerous roads around our school campuses," Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, (D-at-large), who introduced the bill, said in a statement.
The seven schools named as possibilities for speed cameras were chosen based on crash data from the Office of Transportation Infrastructure Systems and with the idea of spreading the use of speed cameras throughout the city, Thomas said.
Engineering and traffic studies must be completed and a public comment period must take place before the cameras could be installed, according to the legislation. Two signs would be posted at each school zone to notify drivers that the cameras are in use.
The bill is expected to be discussed by the Committee on Streets and Service on Tuesday, March 11. If the bill is voted out of committee, it would be considered by the full council.
A Pennsylvania law, enacted in 2023, allows for Philly to test speed cameras in five school zones through 2028. To keep them beyond that point requires the state to renew the program or make it permanent.
In Philadelphia, speed cameras currently are in use along Roosevelt Boulevard and are set to be installed on Broad Street this year. In December, council approved a bill to add them along Route 13 within the city limits.
The Roosevelt Boulevard cameras decreased speeding by 93%, dropped fatalities and serious injuries from crashes by 21% and decreased pedestrian crashes by 50%, according to city data. In 2024, the cameras decreased traffic-related deaths so much that Broad Street replaced the Roosevelt Boulevard as Philly's deadliest road.
