KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A new contract approved by the Knoxville City Council will bring speed enforcement cameras to school zones across the city as part of a broader initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities.
The project is part of Vision Zero, an initiative aiming to eliminate traffic deaths on Knoxville roads by 2040. Cody Gentry, the city’s Vision Zero Coordinator, says automated enforcement is one of the 30 action items outlined in the Vision Zero action plan, released in 2023.
“In school zones, we know we have a lot of what we call vulnerable road users, so we have pedestrians, we have students walking to school, so of course we want them to be safe,” Gentry explained. “But it’s not only just about people outside of the vehicle, it’s anybody traveling through that school zone, whether it’s teachers, whether it’s parents dropping their kids off or just a person trying to get to work. We want all of those people to be safe as they travel through a school zone.”…