San Jose begins installing speed cameras along Saratoga Avenue

San Jose is installing 33 automated speed cameras across the city as officials look for ways to reduce dangerous driving and prevent traffic fatalities. But as the cameras go up, residents have mixed reactions to the new enforcement effort.

One of the cameras now stands along Saratoga Avenue, near the site of a motorcycle crash that killed a woman several weeks ago. Three of the first four cameras installed in San Jose are along Saratoga Avenue, where some residents say speeding has long been a concern.

"Dude, cars are just zooming by, shaking my car. It's crazy," said Brandon, a San Jose resident who works at a coffee shop near Saratoga Avenue and Latimer Avenue.

Brandon said he believes something needs to be done to address the problem.

"Something needs to happen," he said.

Asked why he thinks speeding is so common in the area, Brandon said, "I don't know, like everyone around here just wants to drive fast and has somewhere to be, I guess."

At Saratoga Avenue and Williams Road, another newly installed camera sits near a preschool. Himi Pearl, a San Jose resident and teacher who works nearby, supports the effort, saying the cameras could encourage drivers to follow traffic rules and drive safely.

"I think it's necessary to put [them] on to make sure we are following our rules and be safe," Pearl said.

Still, she is unsure how effective the cameras will be.

"Um, no, I'm not sure. I'm looking forward to seeing how the camera will help people," she said.

Not everyone is welcoming the change. On Curtner Avenue, resident Myra said she was surprised when crews installed a speed camera near her front porch. She initially thought the workers were making a different kind of improvement.

"I thought they were doing something with a light bulb, and then my son pulled up from work and said it's a camera," Myra said.

She said she would have appreciated advance notice.

"A knock on the door or a letter would have been nice, saying, 'Hey, we're posting this,'" she said.

The cameras are part of a five-year pilot program authorized under California's AB 645, which allows select cities to use automated speed enforcement to address dangerous driving.

San Jose has recorded 41 traffic fatalities this year, underscoring the challenge facing city officials as they look for ways to make streets safer.

December 6 is when warning period begins. February 4 is when they start actually fining drivers.