To reduce excessive speeding in school zones, Atlanta Public Schools and the city are placing speed cameras near several schools.

APS Police Chief Ronald Applin said the program’s purpose is to protect students walking to and from school from speeding drivers.

“We have had two kids who were killed in school zones since I’ve been the chief of police,” Applin said. “So, one of the things that we wanted to do is try to get people in school zones to slow down. If you drive slower and someone steps into the street, you have a greater chance of stopping, and even if you hit someone, you’re less likely to cause more severe damage to that person.”

The program will roll out in phases and first launched in August at 10 APS school sites: Burgess-Peterson Academy, Cleveland Avenue Elementary School, Continental Colony Elementary School, Drew Charter Schools, E. Rivers Elementary School, Kindezi at Gideons Elementary School, Kimberly Elementary School, Miles Elementary School, Brandon Elementary School and Fickett Elementary School.

The first phase was a warning period, in which anyone with a speeding violation – driving 10 or more miles over the speed limit – was issued a warning. Individuals who violated the speed limit were issued speeding tickets starting on Sept. 16, with the first violation being $75 and subsequent ones worth $125.

“The company that we’re working with – Verra Mobility – did a study of every school zone, and based on that, we picked the most severe first, and less severe last,” Applin said. “However, some roads were not certified by the state to be able to run speed detection, [so] we had to go back and just go with the ones that are certified. We’re working to get the other roads set up, so as they come on board, we’ll probably just pull in those roads and do 10 [schools] at a time.”