City announces street safety improvements for drivers, pedestrians
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Sept. 22, 2025) – The City of Chattanooga is moving
forward with street improvements to enhance driver and pedestrian safety.
Traffic cameras have been installed at Orchard Knob Elementary School and
Brainerd High School to help ensure the 15 mile-per-hour school zone speed
limit is abided. These school zones have flashing beacons in place to warn
drivers.
- Orchard Knob Elementary School (Eastbound) at East 3rd Street and
Stanley Street - Orchard Knob Elementary School (Westbound) on East 3rd Street past North
Willow Street - Brainerd High School (Northbound) on North Moore Road
- Brainerd High School (Southbound) on North Moore Road
The cameras are scheduled to be activated and monitored by the Chattanooga
Police Department on Oct. 6. This will kick off a 30-day warning period,
after which drivers violating the speed limit in these school zones will
receive a citation
<https://chattanooga.gov/pay-and-apply/tickets-fines/automated-enforcement>with
a fine of $50.
“School zone cameras are about protecting kids, not issuing tickets,” said CPD
Chief of Police John Chambers. “We know that when school zones are enforced
with cameras, drivers slow down, improving safety for everyone.”
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), crashes are
more likely at high speeds because it takes longer to slow down or stop. A
pedestrian hit by a vehicle at 30 miles-per-hour only has a 50% chance of
survival.
“Additional school zones will be considered following both internal and
third-party traffic studies,” said Kenneth Doyle, Transportation Project
Manager with the Intelligent Cities Division at the City of Chattanooga.
“Our vendor, NovoaGlobal Inc., is working with city officials to install
the automated speed enforcement technology in the school zones most in need
of this additional safety measure.”
In addition, the city has installed five new smart streetlights at five
locations on existing streetlight poles:
- Central Ave. and 13th St.
- Central Ave. and Oak St.
- 3rd St. at Derby St.
- 3rd St. and Collins St.
- 3rd St. and N. Highland Park Ave.
These streetlights are positioned at mid-block pedestrian painted
crosswalks for the purpose of increasing safety of pedestrians when they
are crossing. In addition, they provide real-time video coverage to enhance
safety, along with data to connect with Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything
(CV2X) technology.
“Working with our vendor, Juganu, to install these streetlights is part of
the city’s ongoing effort to improve pedestrian safety and provide the
foundation for connected mobility with real-time communication between
vehicles, infrastructure and people,” said Ryan Huddleston, Director of the
Intelligent Cities Division at the City of Chattanooga.