The Trump administration is restricting cities from using road safety grants for automated cameras that enforce speed limits or other traffic laws, part of a shift away from safety measures that might slow or otherwise inconvenience car travel.

The letters to city officials went out in December, saying that “for consistency with Administration priorities,” traffic cameras outside of school or work zones will not get approval under the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. The program was created by the 2021 infrastructure law and funds projects aimed at eliminating traffic deaths.

“This Administration will not allow critical safety dollars to subsidize the purchase of speed cameras so governments can pursue unfair revenue schemes,” U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman Nathaniel Sizemore said in a statement.

Proposals to extend sidewalk curbs farther into a roadway are also barred, although the number of exceptions is greater: transit stops, roundabouts, school zones, on-street parking and curb extensions that don’t take away lanes of traffic, according to the letters from the U.S. Department of Transportation. As with other administration grants, the language also says any “equity analysis” is disqualifying.

The cities had been awarded grants but did not yet have a signed agreement with the White House for their implementation. Until that happens, funds can be clawed back. The Trump administration has previously said grants that include “reducing lane capacity for vehicles” with bike lanes or pedestrian infrastructure are “hostile” to cars and “counter to DOT’s priority of preserving or increasing roadway capacity for motor vehicles.”

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has signaled his enthusiasm for driving in various ways. He has tried to stop congestion pricing in New York, has encouraged Americans to take road trips and on Friday announced plans to host an IndyCar street race around the capital in August, saying, “Freedom doesn’t ring, it revs!”

Alex Engel, a spokesman for the National Association of City Transportation Officials, a nonprofit coalition, said the change is an unwarranted restriction on “proven, lifesaving tools,” and that “limiting speed and red-light enforcement to construction and school zones leaves many of the most dangerous city streets unaddressed.”

Research indicates that speed, red-light and stop sign cameras are effective at reducing crashes and fatalities and popular with the public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls them a “proven safety countermeasure” in a 2023 report and noted that “support appears highest in jurisdictions that have implemented red-light or speed cameras.”

Advocates say merely cutting federal funding is unlikely to slow the growth of camera programs because they generally pay for themselves with fines.

“I don’t see it as a huge barrier, given that that’s not usually where the funding comes from,” said Leah Shahum, who leads a Vision Zero Network that offers support to cities and counties trying to end road deaths. “It’s still consequential for those that have applied, and I would worry a little bit that it may send a message, that in some places it would slow enthusiasm.”

In-person traffic enforcement has collapsed across the country in the past six years, and more communities are turning to cameras to fill the gap. But there are vocal opponents who argue that it isn’t fair to enforce traffic laws without the discretion of a human officer and that cameras are used to fine people for speed limits that are too low.

Last month, Politico reported that the administration suggested stripping funding for the District of Columbia unless the city eliminates its many traffic cameras. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) pushed back, saying doing so “would endanger people in our community” and “mean cuts to everyday services.” Cameras bring in more than $100 million a year through ticket revenue.

Several House Republicans are adamantly opposed to traffic cameras and have pushed for legislation banning them both in D.C. and nationwide. According to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, officials at the Federal Highway Administration have also been gathering information on the city’s bike lanes and whether they took space away from cars and caused congestion.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post 

{Matzav.com}