It’s been one year since speed camera legislation became law. Here’s the latest.

As we have been reflecting on Governor Newsom’s veto of SB 961, something very much related keeps coming up: Walk SF’s six-year campaign to pass legislation allowing speed cameras to be used in San Francisco.

Our successful campaign for speed cameras took a lot of tries – but we ultimately got there, with a statewide coalition, the voices of Families for Safe Streets members, legislative champions, and leadership from our City leaders. 

October 13 was the one-year anniversary of Governor Newsom signing the speed camera bill, AB 645. AB 645 allows San Francisco plus Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, and Long Beach – to pilot the use of speed cameras.

San Francisco is on track to launch 33 speed cameras in February 2025, and be the first of the six cities in California to do so. 

Earlier this week, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved a contract with Verra Mobility to implement speed cameras. Locations for the 33 cameras were finalized in the spring.

Walk SF is grateful to the SFMTA for working quickly to bring this lifesaving tool to our streets ASAP. Speed cameras are a powerful and crucial tool to help counteract the epidemic of speeding. 

The speed camera pilot program has the potential to usher in a new era for safe speeds – and save countless lives. But the City must take additional actions at the same time so that driver behavior shifts at a much broader scale than the locations of the 33 speed cameras. Because we need drivers to slow down everywhere!

Walk SF continues to push for additional actions by the City to amplify the effect of speed cameras. This includes:

1. Continue lowering speed limits on every eligible street in San Francisco, fast-tracking high-injury 30 MPH and 35 MPH streets for lower limits. San Francisco now has the legal authority to lower speeds by 5 MPH on high-injury streets.
2. Bring speed-slowing solutions to scale across the high-injury network, especially left turn calming, traffic light timing for safe speeds, and proactive installation of speed humps and cushions.
3. Get the message across to drivers in a variety of ways that San Francisco is a safe speeds city.

Walk SF’s #SlowOurStreets campaign continues to push for every possible solution to bring down dangerous speeds across our city – and are planning for big things in 2025. You can make them happen!