More than a year and a half after the Elicker administration first proposed installing traffic cameras across the city to deter red-light running and speeding, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved a modified version of that plan.
That approval came on Friday, Oct. 17, when the DOT’s Office of the State Traffic Administration (OTSA) signed off on New Haven’s proposal to put up Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices (ATESD) at 15 locations across the city.
When up and running, the cameras will record images of offending vehicles’ license plates. Then, after review of that footage by a city-contracted vendor and by a city transit employee, the city will send a ticket worth $50 to $75 to the vehicle’s owner.
Of the 15 approved camera sites, 11 will be red-light cameras, looking out for cars that drive through red lights, and four will be speed cameras, looking out for cars that drive above the speed limit.
The 11 red-light cameras will be located at:
• MLK Jr. Boulevard/N. Frontage Road at Church Street
• College Street at George Street
• Ella T. Grasso Boulevard (Rte. 10) at Derby Avenue (Rte. 34)
• Quinnipiac Avenue at East Grand Avenue
• Whalley Avenue (Rte. 63) at East Ramsdell Street/Ramsdell Street
• Orange Street at Edwards Street
• Ella T. Grasso Boulevard (Rte. 10) at Washington Avenue/Spring Street
• Quinnipiac Avenue (Rte. 103) at Foxon Blvd. (Rte. 80)
• Prospect Street at Highland Street
• I-95 South Off-Ramp/Main Street Annex at Woodward Avenue
• South Frontage Road at Park Street
And the four speed cameras will be located along:
• Fountain Street
• Sherman Parkway
• Townsend Avenue
• Rt. 80
The state wound up fully or partially rejecting four proposed locations for speed cameras after finding that they “did not meet or demonstrate sufficient speeding-related issues,” according to city spokesperson Lenny Speiller. Those four nixed locations were along Derby Avenue, Kimberly Avenue, George Street, and Blatchley Avenue.
Click here and here to read New Haven’s state-approved traffic camera plan in full.
The Elicker administration first proposed a 19-camera plan in March 2024. The Board of Alders signed off on the plan in May 2024, and the city submitted its first version of an ATESD plan to the state in early December 2024. The city’s transportation director told the Independent at the time that New Haven hoped to launch the program by Spring 2025. The city then submitted a revised proposal in the early summer of this year in response to state feedback.
Speiller told the Independent on Tuesday that the approval of these 15 locations is valid for three years from the date that the first camera in this plan becomes operational.
Now that OSTA has approved these 15 camera sites, the Elicker administration intends to submit to the Board of Alders a proposed multi-year contract related to the installation and operation of these cameras.
Pending the alders’ “timely approval” of this agreement, Speiller said, the city anticipates that the contract with the vendor will be finalized by the first quarter of 2026, and the first traffic camera “would likely become operational within six months of contract approval. The post-contract process involves additional planning, surveying, engineering, permitting, installation, equipment calibration, testing, back/front office setups, public education and a warning period for 30 days.”
“Making our streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists has been one of our top priorities, and red light and speed safety cameras are another critical tool that we can add to our toolkit to encourage responsible driving, slow motorists down and make our roads safer for residents,” Mayor Justin Elicker told the Independent in a statement for this article.
“We don’t want to issue tickets. We want people to drive safely – especially around our schools. These cameras will be installed at historically dangerous intersections and corridors, and we’re hopeful that they will quickly incentivize drivers to stop going through red lights, stop speeding and obey our traffic laws – and, ultimately, to reduce crashes at these locations and bring pedestrians some peace of mind that they and their families can more easily and safely cross the street.”
This state approval comes after the city also won aldermanic approval of a different proposal to install automated-enforcement cameras on school buses to deter cars from illegally driving around stopped buses.
This story was first published Oct. 21, 2025 by New Haven Independent.