RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) – A set of new speed cameras appeared in Rio Rancho on Wednesday and were removed the next day, leaving multiple community members questioning the change.
Comments and photos about the sudden appearance of the speed cameras in the city were posted in a non-city-affiliated Facebook group named Where's The Damn Van?- Rio Rancho, which focuses on the city's speed enforcement program.
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One of the members of the group, who gave KRQE News 13 permission to use his photographs of the cameras, documented the speed enforcement equipment on Golf Course Boulevard, Unser Boulevard, Rockaway Boulevard, and Broadmoor Boulevard.
KRQE News 13 reached out to the city about the speed cameras and was told by Deputy City Manager Peter Wells that the city's vendor, Verra Mobility, "prematurely" deployed the new speed cameras and that the equipment was removed on Thursday. Wells also confirmed that the city is making a change to its automated traffic enforcement program.
"The City has been in the process of working with its vendor (Verra Mobility) to transition from 8 SUVs, which are no longer being supported/decommissioned, to 10 battery-powered boxes for mobile speed monitoring equipment," Wells wrote in an email.
The eight SUVs Wells mentioned have previously been deployed around the city and are equipped with a radar unit that monitors vehicle speeds. If a vehicle is speeding, the radar unit signals a camera to take a picture of the vehicle, which documents the vehicle, license plate, and speed, according to the city's website.
The evidence is then reviewed by the city's vendor and if a violation is found, it is sent to the Rio Rancho Police Department for final approval. Speeders are then sent a notice to pay a fee $100.
One of the perks of using the SUVs to monitor speeding is that the units can be moved depending on "changing traffic demographics and needs such as school and construction zones," the city's website states.
Now, the city is replacing those SUVs with a much smaller system that is also mobile. KRQE News 13 asked Wells when the new speed cameras would be officially deployed in the city, and he said that he could not provide the date at this time, explaining that more information is expected to be shared next week.
"The Police Department is planning to put out/post information next week and prior to redeployment of the new equipment, which will have a 45-day warning/testing period," Wells wrote.
