Arlington County is taking steps that would allow it to impose a supplemental $200 fine for speeding on certain designated, residential streets.
The County Board will consider a request to advertise the addition of an “Additional Speeding Fine Zone” to its traffic ordinance at tomorrow’s Board meeting.
County staff said residents have asked for stricter speeding enforcement. If approved, traffic studies will need to be conducted to determine which roads have “documented speeding issues” and are thus eligible for the additional fines. Less than 20% of county streets are expected to qualify.
More details from portions of the county staff report:
The Code of Virginia allows localities to post signs for and enforce an additional $200 fine for speeding on residential streets which meet a certain criteria as stated below. Arlington County residents have asked for staff to implement these additional fines for multiple neighborhood street segments. […]
The “$200 Additional Speeding Fine Zone” targets Arlington County’s residential streets that carry relatively higher traffic volumes and have documented speeding issues. Arlington has approximately 88 centerline miles of arterial streets and neighborhood principal streets. They account for about 20% of total centerline miles owned by Arlington County. However, since data-supported speeding confirmation is required by the proposed criteria of this ordinance, the actual impact is expected to be less than 20% of County-owned streets. […]
The “$200 Additional Speeding Fine Zone” is an addition to the County’s full transportation safety toolbox and the Vision Zero initiative and does not replace the consideration and implementation of any other suitable tools.