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Frederick city could see speed cameras by the end of the fall, but in the meantime, residents and police are working together to continue to show heavy-footed drivers just how fast they're going, and collect data on where the city should focus its crackdown efforts in the future

Four of the city's Neighborhood Advisory Councils came together to pool money from their neighborhood budgets to buy a third SPEEDSentry radar speed display — a device that shows drivers how fast they are traveling while gathering data on traffic volume and speed — to place along some of the city's most hastily traveled streets.

The third radar speed display, also known as a "speed box," was donated to the Frederick Police Department from four neighborhood councils that represent most of the city's downtown areas, to join two other speed boxes in the city.

The new speed box, which is mobile, will make its debut at a to-be-determined location in the city in the coming weeks, said Lt. Clark Pennington, spokesman for the Frederick Police Department.

He said the department moves the radars to locations where residents report high-speed traffic, and the new monitor will be able to focus the department's efforts in combating speed.

"We're going to stick this one in the rotation and start putting them in multiple locations," Pennington said. "We'll know what the high speeding times are, where the high speed areas are."

The councils were able to buy the radar display at a discounted price of $2,500 because they were a community group, said Kelly Russell, who belongs to neighborhood council 9 and coordinated the efforts of the councils to buy the new monitor. The monitors usually run about $3,850, but residents said were prepared to take on the costs for the benefits, she said.

"The NACs were put in place to give the community a way to get together, and work on issues in partnership with the city," said Russell, who is also a Democrat running for the city's Board of Alderman. "We decided that we wanted to make a more lasting contribution, and speeding was a big issue."

The Frederick Police Department confirmed that speeding is one of the most prevalent concerns in city neighborhoods.

"Speeding is the number one concern we hear while attending NAC meetings, our goal is to obtain the tools that will address those concerns," said Capt. Kevin Grubb, deputy Chief of Police.

As of Jan. 1 of this year, the department has issued 1,460 speeding citations, compared with 1,312 during the same time frame last year. The 148-ticket increase only reflects what officers have time to monitor, Grubb said.

"It's average, but there are many more than we don't get," Grubb said. "We only have but so many radar guns and but so much unobligated time for officers to monitor it."

Grubb said that the department is continuing to explore options for speed cameras in the city. The department is looking at technology used in Montgomery County, which includes mobile cameras that can also be rotated throughout different parts of the city. The department expects to present plans for the cameras to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen in the fall.

Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) said he assumes that he and the aldermen will be considering some solutions to the speeding issue in the city by the end of his term, but anticipates some issues with introducing the cameras in the city.

Critics say governments install speed cameras to generate revenue, not to improve safety.

"I believe if we use it for safety — like around schools — that's a good thing," he said. "I do believe that there will be money developed from it, which could be problematic for people."

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.