Aurora officials are making another run at a speed enforcement camera program in the city after a previous program lost the city several hundred thousand dollars.

This time around, they’re changing some of the requirements for the program operator, officials said in a council meeting Monday night — most importantly getting rid of the need for someone to staff the cameras from inside a van. 

The first time city officials attempted to run a program using cameras to enforce speed — a program that started in 2022 and was ended by a council vote in April — it cost the city over $500,000 and only generated about $115,000 in revenue, according to Police Sgt. Chris Amsler.

One of the main things driving the lack of success in the program was hiring challenges, City Manager Jason Batchelor said. Officials found it difficult to hire people to sit in a van all day and the process of staffing the vans was expensive, he added.

Taking responsibility for the staffing was a “terrible idea,” Mayor Mike Coffman said.

This time around, the request for proposals to find an operator requires that the operator provide automated and portable trailers, vehicles, or devices that operate on a 24/7 schedule, and provide the necessary staffing for deploying and calibrating the software.

A 24/7 schedule would be much different than the previous program, which was usually only in operation for six-to-12 hours each day, Batchelor said.

During the first program’s, state law only allowed photo radar vans in residential neighborhoods with speed limits of 35 mph or less, school zones, construction zones and streets bordering municipal parks.

Recent law changes now allow the council to designate a stretch of roadway as an “automated vehicle identification corridor,” officials said Monday. In the corridors, if they are proven with data to be problem areas, the city can install cameras to enforce speed.

State law still requires a one-month warning period and caps fines at $40 normally or $80 in school and construction zones. 

“We know you all hear a lot about speeding in your neighborhoods,” Batchelor said to councilmembers Monday. “This is a tool that would help us be responsive to those.”

While people will likely see the program as a money grab, Batchelor said, “I really do just want the public to slow down.”

“I want (the council) to stop getting complaints, we’ve seen the accident levels go up,” he said, adding that he hopes the revenue generated from the program would also go toward further traffic calming methods.

Councilmembers agreed that a photo speed enforcement program is important and supported staff in moving forward with finding a new operator. 

“I understand the feelings of some that this is kind of a council overreach,” Councilmember Steve Sundberg said. “The bottom line is this is about safety … and our residents.”

With council direction, staff will issue a request for proposals and bring the results to the council “in a few months,” Batchelor said.