See when the city’s 20-mph school zones take effect.
The first week of school has started for many students, which means drivers will soon be held accountable again for school zone speeding. Orleans Parish school zones resume operations Aug. 13, New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman Danielle Miller said Friday (Aug. 3).
The 20 mph school zone speed limit is enforced between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., and 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. when students are typically arriving and departing school. Officials said speeding cameras placed at school zones are calibrated to the regular posted speed limit for the remainder of the day, as well as on weekends, holidays and summer break.
To trigger a speeding camera in a school zone, a driver must be going at least 6 miles per hour over the school zone speed limit during enforcement hours. In non-school zones, the cameras are triggered when a driver is going at least 10 miles per hour above the posted speed limit. Citation fees vary depending on how fast the driver is going through the zone.
At least 100 of the city’s “safety cameras” were installed under former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration since 2008. Authorities say the cameras, offered referred to as “red-light cameras,” catch and penalize speeders in an attempt to improve safety conditions citywide.
Early last year, Landrieu’s administration added 55 cameras to school zones. Ten of those cameras are in mobile units that can move around the city to supplement traffic enforcement efforts. The remaining 45 are permanently fixed near schools.
See the city’s full list of speeding camera locations, including traffic cameras in school zones.
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Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles .
