HAMILTON, Va. — With several weeks before the Virginia General Assembly convenes, the mayor of Hamilton in Loudoun County started to push for proposed legislation that would give localities the authority to install speed cameras.
Mayor Kenneth Wine has taken the baton from previous leaders to urge lawmakers to give smaller jurisdictions without a police force such as Hamilton this ability.
Hamilton, which sits on Route 7 between Leesburg and Purcellville, only has close to 700 residents. With Hamilton being roughly a mile long and a block in either direction, the community has been a pass-through town for drivers who speed.
“I have a speed sign in front of my house, and I’ve walked out in the mornings and had cars go through 40, 45 almost 50 miles per hour,” Wine told WUSA9. “People ask why not just create a police department. It costs anywhere from a quarter to half a million dollars to start a police force and we don’t have that kind of money.”
HB 20, introduced by Del. Michael Jones (D-Richmond) was tabled for the upcoming session. It would expand the current Virginia laws which only allows speed cameras in school crossing zones and highway work zones.
There are the 25-mile-per-hour flashing warning signs along the road, but the mayor and residents say they’re not enough.
“Right now, we've been unable to get any assistance from VDOT as far strips, speed bumps, anything at all we can use here in town to slow people down,” Wine added.
There’s only one street in Hamilton which the town owns.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said there’s a process for local governments to use to address certain traffic problems but when asked if it supports the proposed bill, a spokesperson said “VDOT is not in a position to advise as to its stance on any potential legislation at this point.”
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is the law enforcement agency in the town.
As of October, Hamilton had 12 traffic stops, one crash, five citations issued and seven warnings.
However, for people who live in town or frequent it, the issue has been a lingering problem that continues to grow as development persists around it.
“We can't have police everywhere all the time,” Loudoun County resident Jason Dengler said. “We have kids and pets that live in these neighborhoods, and we like to walk the streets of our neighborhoods, and this helps keep us safe.”
“It's hard to go 25 honestly through Hamilton especially when you're usually on your way to the do an errand,” Loudoun County resident Becky Haines said. “Knowing the speed cameras are here might help me edge it closer to 25 than 30.”
If passed, it’s unclear exactly how much of the money from the tickets would benefit Hamilton but if anything, Wine says he’d like to see it go back to developing sidewalks and improving pedestrian and traffic calming measures.