Speed enforcement in Youngstown school zones

Schools, streets and times for reduced speed enforcement in Youngstown are:

• Cardinal Mooney High School (Erie) 7:30-9:30 a.m. / 2-4 p.m.

• East High School (East High / Bennington) 7-9 a.m. / 2-4 p.m.

• Harding Elementary (Benita / Cordova) 7:30-9:30 a.m. / 2:30-4:30 p.m.

• Horizon Science Academy (Southern Boulevard) 6:45-8:45 a.m. / 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• Potential Development (Market Street) 7-9 a.m. / 1:45-3:45 p.m.

• Youngstown Early College High School (Wick) 6:30-8:30 a.m. / 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• Ursuline High School (Wick) 6:45-8:45 a.m. / 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• Summit Academy (Oakwood) 6-8 a.m. / 1:15-3:15 p.m.

• Valley Christian (Southern Boulevard) 6:30-8:30 a.m. / 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• Volney Rogers (South Schenley) 7:30-9:30 a.m. / 2:30-4:30 p.m.

• Taft Elementary (Gibson) 7:30-9:30 a.m. / 2:30-4:30 p.m.

• Woodrow Wilson (Indianola and Gibson) 6-8 a.m. / 12:45-2:45 p.m.

• Youngstown Academy of Excellence

(South Jackson and Rigby) 7-9 a.m. / 2-4 p.m.

• Chaney Middle School (South Schenley) 6:45-8:45 a.m. / 2:15-4:15 p.m.

• Rayen Early College Middle (Williamson) 6-8 a.m. / 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• Chaney High School (S. Hazelwood and Overlook) 7-9 a.m. / 1:45-3:45 p.m.

• Kirkmere Elementary (Kirk Road) 7:30-9:30 a.m. / 2:30-4:30 p.m.

• St. Christine’s (South Schenley) 6:45-8:45 a.m. / 1:30-3:30 p.m.

• Stambaugh Charter Academy (N.Hazelwood): 6:45-8:45 a.m. / 2:30-4:30 p.m.

• Southside Academy (Oak Hill) 6:45-8:45 a.m. / 2-4 p.m.

• MLK School (Mariner) 7:30-9:30 a.m. / 2:30-4:30 p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s police department has released hours of operation for speed cameras that will operate in school zones beginning Wednesday.

In January 2023, the Youngstown Police Department partnered withTennessee-based Blue Line Solutions to launch what it called a school zone safety initiative to reduce speeding in school zones.

“Since the program began, we have seen tremendous success,” with an average of 90% reduction of speeding motorists in the school zones,” the department said Monday in a press release.

Beginning Wednesday, the unstaffed cameras once again will be operational. The cameras were out of commission all of last school year because of a dispute between the city administration and Youngstown Municipal Court over policies and procedures for hearing appeals to the citations issued by the camera system.

Police said school zones will be photo-enforced after the designated times for drivers who exceed the normal speed for those zones on all school days until 6 p.m., when children are present or likely to be present.

A two-week warning period will go into effect Wednesday. Drivers will not be given a citation for any speed violation, but they will receive a warning in the mail. On Sept. 18, enforcement will begin, and violators will be mailed a citation.

During the two hours in the morning that students go to school and the two hours when they leave, the speed limit in those zones is 20 mph. In between and after school ends, the speed limit is 25 and 35 mph, depending on the location.

Drivers caught going at least 11 mph over the speed limit and up to 14 mph over it face a civil penalty of $100. Those going 15 to 20 mph over the limit face a $125 penalty, and those traveling faster than 20 mph over the limit face a $150 penalty. Motorists do not get points on their driving record for the citations.

To help better warn drivers, police said Blue Line Solutions has installed flashing yellow beacons in school zones that didn’t have flashers before. The beacons will be flashing before, during and after arrival and dismissal times for each school, and indicating the 20-mph reduced speed limit.

“The Youngstown Police Department remains committed to slowing drivers down in our school zones to ensure the safety of our students, teachers and community,” the press release states.

In the three months of enforcement, 22,424 speeding citations were issued. City officials previously said about 300 of them were contested.

The city collected $596,878 from the citations with more than $300,000 received since it became publicly known in September 2023 that the program was suspended and there’s no apparent penalty for not paying the citations.

The city gets 65% of the money collected with Blue Line receiving the other 35%. Blue Line’s take of the paid citations is $321,396.

Cameras were in use on school days from the time children headed to class until 6 p.m. They weren’t used on weekends, during the summer and on days when class was not in session.

Because the program is starting over, City Law Director Lori Shell Simmons said those who contested the speeding citations had their cases dismissed, and they don’t have to pay.

The dispute between administration and the courts had much to do with the burden on the court’s docket to hear appeals of the tickets.

In an April 2023 letter to administration officials, Municipal Court Judge Carla Baldwin wrote, “In short, the city appears to have enacted these ordinances without in any way ensuring that there are appropriate procedures, resources or personnel necessary to carry out the appeals stated in the ordinance.”

A decision was reached in May to resolve the citation appeals issue.

Donna McCollum, a part-time municipal court magistrate, will start in mid to late October holding court once a month to hear appeals. The court will reevaluate how often McCollum is needed for the appeals after a while.

Under state law that restricts the use of speed cameras, Youngstown can use its share of the speed camera citation collections for only school safety resources, such as improvements to school zones and crosswalks near those buildings.

The city has spent none of its citation money to date.

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