Where faulty school zone flashers caused unfair tickets, clearer street signs might have allayed confusion

ATLANTA - For five months, a pair of school zone flashers near Drew Charter School cut off 15 minutes early on mornings and afternoons, misleading drivers into receiving speeding tickets from automated cameras that went on ticketing as if the lights still blinked.

But even with the faulty flashers, the message to drivers could have been clearer under the original plans submitted to the state for the automated camera permit. The FOX 5 I-Team learned the city and the camera contractor altered the plans without state approval, raising questions about whether the school zone cameras on Memorial Drive should be operating at all.

FOX 5 broke the story last month of nearly 4,500 erroneous speeding tickets issued by the two cameras, with Atlanta Public Schools saying anyone cited unfairly who paid their fine can get a refund.

The I-Team also obtained the permit application packet submitted by APS to the Georgia Department of Transportation, which by state law must sign off on permits for school zone cameras.

The plans called for signs emblazoned with a schedule of times when the speed limit dips from 35 to 25 miles per hour to be added to the same "Speed limit 25 when flashing" signs with the blinking orange lights, to be facing both westbound and eastbound traffic.

In the Drew Charter school zone, those 25 mph times are 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:45 to 5 p.m. The FOX 5 I-Team discovered, until the city fixed the problem May 2, the flashing school zone beacons cut off at about 8:15 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.

Drivers passing through, during those 15-minute windows of erroneously halted flashers, might have had a clue something was amiss under the original sign plans.

Instead, the sign for eastbound traffic is posted in a spot after traffic has already passed the automated camera that clocks speeds and photographs license plates.

David Malkin, cited for going 37 in a 25 zone at 4:59 p.m. while dropping off his son at the East Lake YMCA, said even if he’d read that sign, it would have done no good.

"By that time I would have already passed the speed camera, and I would have already received the ticket," Malkin, who lives in Decatur, said.

By law, a driver must be going at least 11 miles over the speed limit to be cited by an automated camera, so Malkin shouldn't have been cited for going 37 in a 35. He has applied for a refund.

There’s no sign with a schedule of times posted for eastbound traffic.

James Murphy, who lives nearby, brought this up during a hearing in Atlanta Municipal Court last month, just before Chief Judge Christopher T. Portis threw out his ticket.

"There literally is no sign going eastbound on Memorial Drive that says anything about anything other than 25 miles per hour when flashing," Murphy said. "So it is giving a lot of tickets to people for essentially doing nothing that they were notified that they were not supposed to be doing."

Inconsistent street signs around automated school zone cameras have been a recurring complaint throughout the state, and one proposal that died in the state legislature this year would have required uniform signage.

GDOT reiterated to APS the requirement to change the signs when a traffic engineer signed off on the permit, adding a handwritten note: "Camera shall be turned on after sign upgrades are complete."

The permit application called for the sign work to be done by camera contractor Verra Mobility and Atlanta’s Department of Transportation.

A spokesperson for ATLDOT said in written answers to questions that initially, they did put up the signs with schedules, but decided they were too confusing.

"These signs were installed to cover the ‘WHEN FLASHING’ text printed on the original flashing beacon signs, as per the original design plan," the written statement said. "However, after discussions with ATLDOT and Verra Mobility, the Enforcement Time Signs were then removed."

The reason? It's better for drivers to look for flashing lights.

"School time schedule signs, particularly when there are multiple school schedules for various days, would be more difficult to follow for drivers than simply following whether the beacon is flashing or not," the spokesperson said. "This may also be a point of confusion during the summer when school is out. Having Enforcement Times on flashing beacons can introduce conflicting messages if the beacon is malfunctioning or out during a listed school zone time."

The spokesperson said the city did not consult with GDOT about the altered plans, but said the current sign configuration complies with GDOT guidelines. The statement said the city did not install a sign with a 25-miles-per-hour schedule for eastbound traffic because, beyond the turn on Eva Davis Way leading to the school, there’s no sidewalk on that side for pedestrians.

A spokeswoman for GDOT told the I-Team in writing, "As with other permits issued by the Department, the permit holder (agrees) to adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by the Department. 

"If the permit holder fails to meet the conditions of the permit, the permit would be considered invalid," GDOT said.

If that turns out to be the case, state Rep. Becky Evans, D-Atlanta, said the city should consider refunds for anyone ticketed in error.

"More importantly, I just want them to make sure they take care of these problems because the community itself is happy the cameras are working and slowing people down," Evans, who represents the area in the Georgia House, said. "It's very important that Atlanta does get this right."

Citation data obtained by the FOX 5 I-Team shows more than 11,000 citations written by the Memorial Drive cameras between September and mid-April, with Verra Mobility taking a $25 cut of each one, according to its contract.

Atlanta Public Schools would also communicate only in writing for this story, declining the I-Team's requests to speak with any APS/Board of Education officials.

"We will continue to work with all of our partners to monitor and improve the program, which has resulted in a visible and noticeable improvement in driver behavior throughout our school zones," APS’s statement said. "In October 2023, there were nearly 14,000 speeding violations. At the end of the school year, in May 2024, that number dropped significantly to under 5,500 – nearly a 60% drop in speeding within the first year. This shows proof that the program works and changes driver behavior to help increase the safety of our school zones."

Verra Mobility referred questions to the school system.

For information about refunds, APS provided an email address: oorppd@atlantaga.gov.