Cambridge Will Ask State Legislature to Allow Use of Traffic Cameras

The Cambridge City Council unanimously voted on Monday to draft a petition asking the Massachusetts State Assembly to allow the city to implement automatic traffic enforcement.

The home rule petition, which would be prepared in collaboration with Boston officials, is the latest in a series of attempts by the city to allow for automated parking cameras — a push that has seen renewed energy after cyclist John H. Corcoran ’84 was struck and killed on Memorial Drive by an oncoming SUV which swerved onto the sidewalk in September.

If approved by the state legislature, it would bring both cities in line with other municipalities across the state, which are not subject to the ban on automated enforcement. A section of state law passed in the 1980s specifically bans automatic enforcement in Boston and Cambridge.

“There’s a funny thing in the state law that only Boston and Cambridge have a particular section related to parking enforcement,” Councilor Patricia M. Nolan ’80 said. She drew a contrast with neighboring Somerville, which already implemented automated enforcement without a home rule petition.

“It’s really wild that we’re the only two,” Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui added.

At a bike safety rally on Sunday, several local and state officials and traffic safety advocates described worsening driver behavior and declining police enforcement since the pandemic. The anecdotal concerns mirror national trends of increasing traffic fatalities since 2019.

Nolan said at the rally that the city has submitted a similar home rule petition several times in the past, calling it a “no-brainer.”

“This will cost nothing, but it will really help enforcement of some of the traffic issues,” she said.

Still, the city’s previous attempts to win the ability to use traffic cameras have all failed. State Senator William N. Brownsberger ’78, a longtime proponent of the policy, said at the Sunday rally that the legislature has resisted allowing for automated enforcement due to privacy and accountability concerns.

“They’re afraid that it’s going to be abused, and people are going to get tickets for going 26 miles an hour, and there’s going to be a line of people around the courthouse appealing their tickets,” he said.

“There’s pushback on this, but I think the consensus is developing,” Brownsberger added.

—Staff writer Benjamin Isaac can be reached at benjamin.isaac@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @benjaminisaac_1.

—Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.