New Castle County Council unanimously approves the use of speed cameras.
Cameras will be installed along Milltown Road first, and during the first five months the state will cover the cost - totalling $28,550.
At that point, the program will be evaluated by the county to determine if it will move forward.
The goal is to reduce speeding on a stretch of road where the speed limit is 35 mph.
The speed cameras will be used to ticket drivers going 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit.
Col. James Leonard is chief of the New Castle County Police Department.
"The tickets that will be issued are done and collected by the third party - a company known as Elovate. They're then sent to the traffic unit supervisor, who is a deployable resource but not a patrol function. He will review each of the tickets to ensure that the tags that are associated with this violation itself are actually affixed to a car that somewhat resembles the one that's pictured in the photo," said Leonard.
Leonard notes it will also be verified if the speed recorded is 11 mph over the limit. Elovate will be notified on a weekly basis confirming which citations can be issued.
Elovate is the same used for the speed cameras at construction sites on I-95, and is responsible for installation, operation and maintenance of the cameras.
Dorothy Reader lives on Milltown Road, and she explains why something needs to be done to slow traffic.
"The road is two lanes with a full shoulder on either side. It appears wide open and vehicles pass on the shoulder without slowing down. Most are not traveling the 35 speed limit,” said Reader. “We have no sidewalks, we bike and walk on the shoulder, our mailboxes are on the road, so we access them on the shoulder."
Reader notes that school buses and DART buses use the shoulder to pick up and drop off riders, and that children and adults both use the shoulder to wait for the bus.
