More spy cameras are on the way

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The D.C. government will double the number of photo-radar cameras, increase licensing and parking fees and enforce traffic laws more vigorously as part of a plan to raise non-tax revenue by nearly $47 million next year.

A spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, which has described the city's administration of the automated-enforcement program as a "shakedown," says the District has made some progress in addressing the organization's concerns. But the fact that the additional cameras were first brought to light in a budget document leads to questions about the city's motives.

"It's completely backwards to let the dollars drive the decisions about public safety," says Deborah DeYoung. "Cameras do improve safety when they're used right. The only issue for us is whether this is a back-door route to a commuter tax the city couldn't get in the front door."

Beginning today, police will write tickets to drivers caught speeding in the 600 block of Florida Avenue NE.

Motorists' fines and fees are projected to raise $21 million as part of an overall plan to boost city revenue by nearly $47 million in fiscal 2005. The plan was outlined in a confidential report that Mayor Anthony A. Williams circulated among D.C. Council members last week.

The Council voted in July 2002 to exempt itself from its own parking regulations. The measure, coming after a year in which traffic enforcement officers had cracked down on illegally parked Council members' cars, was sponsored by Council member Carol Schwartz and supported by Council members Kevin Chavous, Jack Evans, Sandra Allen, Adrian Fenty, David Catania, Jim Graham, Harold Brazil, Vincent Orange and Linda W. Cropp.

Phil Mendelson, Kathy Patterson and Sharon Ambrose voted no.

The exemption, approved but criticized at the time by Mr. Williams, extended to Council members the same parking privileges enjoyed by members of Congress -- including the freedom to park in bus zones, in restricted spaces near intersections, at building entrances and on restricted residential streets. It also freed Council members from having to put money into parking meters.