To the editor:
It is hard for me to see the school traffic cameras as anything but a source of revenue for the city. In particular, the camera at Bay View– on only one side of the street! - seems positioned for only that reason.

There is no camera on the southbound side of Pawtucket Avenue. It only took drivers about 4 days to realize that, while traffic crawled up the northbound side, they could zip by at 40mph with nary a notice

I have worked at Bay View for over 20 years and, with the exception of a few girls who might walk to Dunkin on rare occasions, there is no student presence in front of the school.

The elementary students are active in a gated playground with no access to the road. Drop off and pickup are in the rear of the building.

In fact, I don't believe it was even a marked school zone prior to the installation of cameras. Issuing a ticket to someone traveling 37 mph at 3:50pm is simply a money grab.

If there were truly a concern for student safety, cameras should be installed at Waddington Elementary on Legion Way. The school sits adjacent to a well-traveled road, young students can, and do, come very close to the road. Parents and students cross the road for drop off and pick up. And motorists frequently do not observe posted limit.

I realize that revenue would drop significantly, but that is not the stated purpose of the cameras.

John Lord
Riverside