To the editor:

After attending the June 10 special meeting on speed cameras, it was hard not to feel like it was just for show. Before anyone from the community was allowed to speak, the Barrington Town Council members had already taken turns making it clear they were moving forward with speed cameras. So why even bother inviting the public to weigh in? The message was clear: we’ve already decided.

Oddly, the town council president likes to remind us that “words mean things.” He says it a lot. I assume he’s trying to sound philosophical—but in this case, the words “public hearing” clearly didn’t mean much. When the outcome is predetermined, what’s the point?

We’re told that school zones need cameras because they’re on state roads, and it’s just too hard to do anything else. We hear that putting in speed bumps, painting crosswalks, or installing raised pedestrian areas would take two or three years. But my question is: why didn’t anyone start that process two, three or ten years ago? Remember: Our town manager used to be our town planner. Speeding isn’t a new issue. It’s just that speed cameras are suddenly the only solution because they’re quick, easy, and—let’s be honest—profitable.

Meanwhile the town’s actual safety infrastructure is a mess. 

The blinking lights near the middle school? According to the town manager, they don’t work reliably because it’s too complicated to get them functioning properly. Really? If the town can’t manage blinking lights, how exactly is it going to oversee a ticket-issuing, evidence-reviewing speed enforcement system? It’s embarrassing to admit we can’t handle the current safety equipment. 

And the lack of signage across town—both on state roads and local streets—is just absurd. We want to lecture drivers about safety, but we can’t even be bothered to post clear signs telling them where school zones begin or end. I live on a corner lot where three residential streets intersect, and it’s also a school bus stop. There are no stop signs. When I requested one, the Police Chief advised the town council that it wasn’t needed since there hadn’t been accidents there. 

So let me get this straight: we need industrial-grade camera enforcement for drivers doing 1 mph over the speed limit in front of a school at 10 a.m.—but not a stop sign where kids board buses?

The inconsistency is baffling. 

Officials are eager to take a high-tech approach to safety when it involves revenue, but remain passive and dismissive when it comes to common-sense, low-cost fixes like paint, signs, or working lights. 

If Barrington really cared about safety, it would have invested in infrastructure years ago. What we’re getting instead is a rushed, automated solution backed by vendor-driven data.

Words may have meanings—but actions speak louder. And in this case, the actions don’t match the rhetoric.

I understand that safety near schools is a real concern, and I share that concern. But putting up cameras as a knee-jerk reaction isn’t courageous—it’s convenient. Real leadership would mean slowing down, involving the community, and tackling the harder work of fixing our roads, upgrading our signage, and creating lasting infrastructure improvements. That’s what a town truly committed to safety would do.

And let’s not pretend this will be limited to two school zones. Once the cameras go up, it’s only a matter of time before they’re at every school, every major intersection, and every traffic light in town. Officials may call this a “trial period,” but we all know how these things go—once installed, they never come down. This isn’t a test.

Joe Merrill

Barrington