Town of Vail speed cameras have generated more than 44,000 citations, with a few delivery glitches

There have been a few glitches with the town of Vail’s new speed enforcement cameras on both North and South Frontage Road since they went live in mid-November, primarily related to mail delivery of citations, but that has not slowed the pace of speeding violations.

The $40 citations issued in the 25 mph zones in both West Vail and near the main Vail Transportation Center were mistakenly sent to physical addresses instead of U.S. Post Office boxes in the early going, meaning residents who do not receive home mail delivery had no idea they had been ticketed in December and January until they received notices in March.

And in at least one case, a Thornton, Colo., man who says he hasn’t been to Vail in 15 years contends he erroneously received two citations.

Overall, between the time the Dacra Tech cameras went live (Nov. 16 for both east- and westbound South Frontage Road in West Vail near City Market and Nov. 22 for just westbound South Frontage Road near the Vail Transportation Center) and Monday, March 30, there have been 44,164 citations issued for a grand total of $475,390 in fines.

Net revenue to the town, however, from November through February has been just $73,922 because of fees paid to the vendor and the lag time between issuing citations and collecting from the people who received them. The contractor charges the town $6 for every citation issued and then collects another $6 when payment is received, before remitting the rest to the town.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

“In other words, IF the fine is collected, we get $28 per $40 citation. If it isn’t, we owe $6,” town of Vail spokesperson Kris Widlak wrote in an email.

A phone operator on the information line listed on a Jan. 9 citation that was not received until March 5 (855-430-6429) said there were quite a few citations issued and not delivered in a timely fashion or with the proper photographic proof and speeding violation details.

“So, they had an issue delivering the citations because of the postal service and also with the (Colorado) DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) having updated records,” the operator said. “So a lot of people did not get these citations the first time around. And when they sent those out, I totally disagree with them because they’re very intimidating. When you first read it, it’s like, ‘Oh, I did something wrong.’ They understand that, and they’re working through this problem.”

What matters in your community, delivered daily.

Sign up for our morning newsletter at VailDaily.com/newsletter

The operator said for those early citations that are just now showing up — and indicating they are past due — the company is allowing an additional 130 days from the date of the violation.

“Yes, we had an issue with citations getting mailed to physical addresses rather than to P.O. boxes,” Widlak said. “Once that issue was fixed, the system generated and sent the follow-up letter instead of resending the original citation, which would’ve been our preference. This has been addressed (pun intended) and should hopefully not be ongoing.”

Al Clark of Thornton called the Vail Daily to report what he deemed “a scam the town of Vail is putting on with their cameras.” He said he has not been to Vail in 15 years and received a citation in the mail with a picture of someone else’s vehicle. Clark said he called and was told it would be taken care of but has since received another false citation and can’t get it resolved.

“I put pictures of it on Facebook,” Clark said in a voicemail. “I’m just warning people going through Vail that these guys, they’re probably sending (citations) out just knowing people are going to pay them because they’re scared.”

Widlak said Clark’s case was out of the ordinary and should be resolved with a review.

“The person with two tickets in Thornton is unusual,” Widlak said. “The police department says they have had less than a dozen people contact the town to say the car was not in Vail at the time of the citation. In most of those instances, it has been a plate reading error between ‘0s’ and ‘Os.’ And in those cases, the PD is able to review the photo and dismiss the citation immediately.”

There was community support for the camera when the town was considering installing them in two heavily trafficked areas with many vehicles turning in and out of parking structures and other commercial areas. In the case of the North Frontage Road, there is also skier parking along the side of the road. The speed limits in those areas have been 25 mph for at least 20 years.

“(Vail Police Chief Ryan Kenney’s) views on the importance of the cameras as a force multiplier are very much focused on safety in two areas the town has heard a lot about …,” Widlak said.