The Facts

More speed cameras may be coming to San Francisco, if the state agrees. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday formally asked the state to lift San Francisco’s 33-camera cap and allow the city to install up to 80 more, with Supervisor Shamann Walton casting the sole no vote.

The Context

California’s AB 645 pilot caps San Francisco at 33 systems through 2031. Citations are civil penalties starting at $50, and cameras photograph rear license plates rather than drivers’ faces.

SFMTA’s one-year report found that the share of drivers going at least 10 mph over the limit fell 79% at camera locations, from 11% to 2%, equal to roughly 40,000 fewer speeding incidents each day.

Citywide traffic deaths fell from 43 to 25 between 2024 and 2025, alongside speed cameras and other safety measures.

The GrowSF Take

The evidence is undeniable: speed cameras save lives. Sacramento should let San Francisco place them on more streets where crash data shows the greatest danger.

Automated enforcement should complement safer street design and police enforcement, not replace either.