Speed Cameras Come to Irving Park Road Along Horner Park

IRVING PARK — Smile, leadfeet, you're on candid speed camera as you fly past Horner Park on Irving Park Road.

According to the office of 33rd Ward Ald. Deb Mell, cameras have been installed at 2712 and 2713 W. Irving Park Road, on the south side of the park.

After an initial 30-day warning period, speeders will be ticketed $35 for going 6-10 mph over the posted limit, or $100 for more than that.

Speed indicator signs — tall flashing posts that show drivers their speeds — have been placed ahead of each camera.

Horner Park is among the first 50 speed-camera locations selected by the Chicago Department of Transportation, which based positioning on accident and speeding data, according to Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein.

"People need to remember they're breaking the law" when they speed, said Klein, who's leaving his post at the end of November. "We need to create a new normal for how people drive around Chicago."

The city's 2014 budget allocates $60 million in speed-camera revenue, and money collected from speed-enforcement cameras will fund safety programs, after-school programs and road improvements, Klein said.

Some aldermen have questioned whether those revenue figures are overly ambitious, given Klein's report that violations dropped 60 percent in the first week tickets were being issued, with few repeat offenders.

Klein responded by emphasizing the social gains from fewer accidents, even at the potential loss of revenue.

"No matter what happens, the city is going to be a much better city, regardless of revenue," Klein said.