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Frustrated by Buffalo's school speed zone cameras? This proposed change may help

Posted at 5:30 PM, Mar 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-03 17:30:48-05

"I love the city. I'm a city girl at heart," Village of Kenmore homeowner, Elena Greco said.

Greco used to love driving into the City of Buffalo to have lunch with friends, or to shop. That is until city leaders approved speed zone cameras in 14 school zones.

"I refuse to drive into the city during school hours," she said. "We're not going to risk getting a ticket. I'm not going to deal with that stress. I have enough stress in my life. I don't need any extra stress," she added.

The cameras aren't live yet. So far, drivers caught going more than 26 miles-per-hour in a school zone have only received a warning. The city is still working to install flashing beacons and proper signage to alert drivers they're on camera.

Still, Buffalo Common Councilman Rasheed Wyatt said his office has received a lot of if complaints. So, he's proposing enforcing the law from 7:30 A.M. to 9:30 A.M., or the start of the school day and 2:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M., or during school dismissal. "The whole day thing I think is overkill for the most part," Wyatt said.

Common Council President Darius Pridgen agrees with Wyatt.

"At the end of the day, we're talking about safety of the children and the most vulnerable time is when they're going in and when they're going out of school," he said.

A spokesman for the mayor said he's looking at the data and the proposal before he'll say whether he supports the change. The proposal will head to committee. The soonest it would be taken up for a vote by the Common Council would be two weeks.