WATCH | Sen. Hwang Calls for Pause, Revisions to Fairfield Traffic Camera Program to Strengthen Roadway Safety & Public Trust

Details a path forward that includes pausing program, increasing public awareness and signage, and removing violation fee revenue from the town budget.

State Sen. Tony Hwang (R-28), ranking Republican member of the Transportation Committee, today held a press conference outside Fairfield Town Hall calling on town officials to pause and reevaluate the town’s automated traffic enforcement program following staggering projected violations and the expected revenue during the program’s initial warning period, which expires May 31.

Hwang emphasized that roadway safety remains the core purpose of Connecticut’s 2023 automated traffic enforcement law, Connecticut Public Act 23-116, which authorized towns to implement speed and red-light camera programs under the state’s Vision Zero roadway safety initiative.

“We are looking at 190,000 projected violations in a single month in Fairfield alone. Those numbers are staggering and alarming. However, they are not surprising. What they reveal is that speeding and breaking speed limit laws has become normalized in our communities and throughout our state,” said Sen Hwang.

Fairfield’s current implementation includes 16 cameras across eight school-zone locations. The town estimates the warning period could generate approximately $3.2 million in monthly fines once full enforcement begins.

Sen. Hwang said the scale of the violations and public frustration demonstrates the need for additional public education, greater awareness, and refinements to the local implementation strategy before the program proceeds further.

“Let me be clear: I support speed and red-light cameras because they are an important tool for police to improve roadway safety. We also need to recognize the frustration and concern from residents who feel blindsided by the implementation. If people do not fully understand the program, we risk undermining the broader public safety mission,” he said.

The 2023 legislation, which passed on a bipartisan basis through the Transportation Committee, allows municipalities to adopt automated enforcement systems with Connecticut DOT oversight and privacy safeguards. The original legislative intent was to improve safety in targeted high-risk areas like school zones, while changing dangerous driving behavior over time.

“This is not about punishment. This is about changing a culture of speeding that has become commonplace. One life lost on our roadways is one too many,” said Sen. Hwang.

Citing a critical element that he says is key to public trust, Sen. Hwang also urged Fairfield officials to remove projected speed camera fine revenue from the town’s general fund budget to eliminate perception that the program is being used primarily as a revenue source.

“We wrote the 2023 law in a way that was explicit that funds generated through these programs must be dedicated to roadway safety purposes only,” he said. “The projected revenue should be placed into a dedicated roadway safety account for education, signage, awareness, and traffic safety improvements and not viewed as general operating revenue.”

Sen. Hwang praised Fairfield Police Chief Michael Paris and local law enforcement officials for their focus on roadway safety and acknowledged the difficult challenges officers face responding to reckless driving and serious crashes.

“Chief Paris made an important point: too many tragic accidents could have been prevented. I commend our law enforcement officers for their commitment to protecting the public and saving lives,” he said.

While reaffirming his support for the law’s original intent, Hwang urged municipal leaders to follow the example of neighboring communities that have paused implementation efforts to evaluate public feedback and operational impacts before proceeding further.

“I’m asking for our municipal leaders to show that they are willing to listen to the people that are going to be impacted by this policy to pause, just as they have done in Greenwich, in their program, to better understand the implications and the real-life results and impact on residents and drivers,” said Sen. Hwang. “I want this program to succeed in Fairfield and across Connecticut. But success depends on public trust, transparency, education, and thoughtful implementation. We need to pause, learn from the data, and make adjustments that preserve the integrity and long-term viability of the program.”