At the moment, Helsinki's city centre only has four traffic cameras—located on Mäkelänkatu, Mannerheimintie, Mechelininkatu and Kaivokatu—but this may soon change. Plans are in the works to dot the main thoroughfare Mannerheimintie with seven box cameras.
”It’s about improving traffic safety. The downtown cameras have led to fewer accidents and speeding in these areas,” said Jussi Yli-Seppälä, a traffic engineer for the city.
Proposed sites of the new cameras:
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Officials want cameras to deter speeding in areas with heavy traffic and a high accident rates, such as the intersection between Mäkelänkatu and Sturenkatu in Vallila and on Itäväylä Road near the Easton Helsinki shopping centre. These two hot spots have accounted for 90 accidents in the past decade.
One speed camera costs the city about 15,000 euros, bringing the total bill for the overhaul to over a million euros. Police point out that the cameras are not a cash cow for the city. The state collects fines from speeding tickets, and the city does not receive any financial benefit from catching traffic violators. However, safer roads save the city money in the long run as Helsinki foots an annual traffic accident bill of 79 million euros.
Last year Helsinki police investigated 2,300 traffic accidents, in which 479 people sustained injuries and eight died.
