NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio -- More and more Cleveland suburbs are giving the green light to speed enforcement cameras. Last September, Newburgh Heights installed two mobile cameras on Harvard Avenue near I-77.
In less than a year both cameras have generated nearly 10,000 violations.
"We've seen a significant decrease in speeding," explained Newburgh Heights Mayor Trevor Elkins. "I cannot deny that these things generate revenue…they generate revenue in the same manner that a speed trap would generate revenue."
Newburgh Heights is a small village that can see as many as 18,000 cars pass through daily.
Mayor Elkins says the new cameras have not only helped reduce the number of speeding violations, they have also helped reduce the average speed on main roads.
"These are safer for the officers because they're not exposed to oncoming traffic, or traffic passing them, it allows our officers to do things like travel the village."
However drivers are split on the issue of whether the cameras encourage safety or just drive dollars.
"It's not until the last minute…like oh there's a camera I need to slow down," said driver Greg Zysek.
"The city is already having its troubles economically, that's all we need is to take more money out of people's pockets," added Kareem Pope.
For the past several weeks the city of Maple Heights has also been giving speed enforcement cameras a test run with four newly installed cameras on Warrensville Center Road and Broadway capturing 4,000 violations during their first week.
At $100 dollars a citation, it's a lot of money several drivers say they cannot afford.
However leaders in both Newburgh Heights and Maple Heights say they need the added revenue to offset limited police resources and tight budgets.
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