EAST CANTON − This little village has a big speeding problem.
“When I became mayor, the main concern of residents was the safety of our streets,” said Mayor David Spencer, appointed to the office in 2022, then elected to a full term the next year.
He said it’s impossible for the village’s 10-member police force to keep up with all the cars and trucks flaunting the 25 or 35 mph limits. Each time an officer pulls over a speeder to issue a citation, Spencer said, two or three more speeders blow past in the process.
“I could put an officer on it full time and still not keep up,” said Police Chief Christopher Hartlaub, hired in February 2025.
Together, they developed a plan.
They’d place stationary, automated traffic enforcement cameras to assist. It’s hardly new technology. They’ve been around for decades. However, East Canton is the first community in Stark County to use them on a widespread basis to issue traffic citations and fines, according to local clerks of courts offices, which ultimately process such tickets.
Four camera stations were recently installed along main routes in and out of the village: One each on East and West Nassau Street (state Route 172), North Wood Street (state Route 44) and Lincoln Street SE (U.S. Route 30).
They begin operating on May 15, with a 30-day warning period.
After that, real citations with fines due will be issued to any vehicle driving at least 10 mph above the speed limit.
“This is not about the revenue,” Spencer said. “It’s about safety.”
Still, the cameras could net the village of 1,500 residents an estimated $1 million in their first year of operation. Not too shabby for a town whose previous annual budgets were less than $2 million.
No cost to the village for cameras
The Village Council had approved cameras more than a year ago, but it took a while, Spencer said, to iron out the logistics.
East Canton hired Targeting and Solutions Limited of Newburgh Heights near Cleveland to establish the system. Company founder Trevor Elkins said he has similar contracts with 11 Ohio communities.
“My company is the go-between,” Elkins said.
He doesn’t make the cameras. Instead, he acts as the organizer, arranger and quality control overseer to ensure the system operates correctly. That, Elkins said, allows him to hold camera suppliers accountable.
“I have 15 years’ experience with five different camera companies,” he said. “I know how these things are supposed to work. I’ve learned from my mistakes … and wanted to help other communities.”
Although there’s no cost to East Canton for the cameras, Targeting and Solutions gets to keep 40% of the revenue.
Elkins’ other job is as mayor of Newburgh Heights.
That village — dissected by Interstate 77 — also happens to use traffic enforcement cameras. Elkins and his company are not involved with those cameras, for obvious ethical reasons.
Newburgh Heights, he said, collects about $4.5 million a year in fines.
East Canton, he said, could clear $1 million.
More important, Elkins said, is Newburgh Heights has seen the overall average speed of vehicles decrease by 25%.
“That can be the difference of life and death,” he said.
A minor accident, perhaps, instead of a serious or fatal crash.
“We’ve had some close calls,” said Spencer, a lifelong East Canton resident.
Hartlaub, the police chief, said many Nassau Street residents are senior citizens, who must cross the street to their mailboxes. Children play in their neighborhoods, where speed limits are 25 mph. Not to mention street-crossing deer, which can be plentiful at times.
The cameras, said resident Brittney Roberts, are a good thing.
“Because of the kids,” she said.
The main routes through the village have speed limits as high as 55 mph just beyond East Canton’s boundaries. Those same roads are 35 mph inside the village.
“Unfortunately, there’s a large segment of the population that doesn’t view them as important,” Hartlaub said.
Study revealed depth, scope of speeding problem
The police chief said the pole-mounted cameras will allow officers to spend more time on neighborhood streets.
“We’re small … but we have 11 miles of roads,” the mayor said.
Three years ago, Tennessee-based Blue Line Solutions conducted traffic speed studies at five locations in East Canton. It revealed approximately 1,500 vehicles per day traveled at least 10 mph above speed limits.
The data also showed:
Dale Elliott, of Kensington in Columbiana County, drives through East Canton regularly, especially on his way to fish Lake Erie. He’s been pulled over for speeding before, but got off with a warning.
“I know to watch,” he said. “I can’t afford tickets.”
Most legal work on the project was completed by Charles Hall, the former village solicitor. Stephan Babik, who took over the job this year, said East Canton is uniquely located, compared to some other villages.
“All those main roads coming through,” he said.
Babik said the goal of the cameras is to create compliance, not raise money.
Not everyone is convinced.
“They should have better things to do,” said Rick Tucker of East Sparta, a semi-regular at Grandma Tammy’s Farmhouse Favorites restaurant on West Nassau Street, where one of the camera stations is located.
How the system will work
The village has placed numerous roadway signs, alerting drivers of the photo traffic enforcement.
Such cameras are legal in Ohio, but only in villages and cities. And, by law, they’re subject to a host of conditions. To fulfill one of the regulations, Babik said, every automated ticket generated by a camera will be reviewed by a police officer before it’s mailed.
Hartlaub said officers will examine citations to ensure, for example, the camera photo matches the vehicle cited, that it’s a clear photo and that time of day generally appears accurate.
“They’ll be looking for inconsistencies,” the chief noted.
Elkins said cost per citation in most communities ranges from $150 to $200, depending on how fast the vehicle was going.
There’s a key legal difference between a police officer-issued ticket and one generated by camera enforcement.
A police officer’s ticket can be a criminal minor misdemeanor, which places points on the driver’s license. In East Canton, for example, those citations can flow through its mayor’s court.
Village records show the court collected $37,723 in fines last year.
A camera generated ticket is issued to the owner of the vehicle — determined by the license plate. It’s a civil violation, not a criminal one, so no points get added to anyone’s driver’s license.
All of East Canton’s camera citations will be processed through the Canton Municipal Clerk of Court. The village will pay that office $20 per citation, said Kody Gonzalez, chief deputy clerk.
Elkins said simply ignoring a camera citation is a bad long-term plan. By law, once the village wins a civil judgment, it can pursue collections through wage garnishment, for example.
Vehicle owners will have the option to assign the citation to another person, he added, if someone else was driving when the violation occurred.
To get the word out, village officials have created a website page filled with details about the cameras, placed a newspaper legal ad and mailed a postcard to its residents.
“We’ve tried to be as open about this as possible,” the police chief said.
“The only person to blame is behind the wheel,” Elkins said.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Speeders beware. East Canton unveils new traffic enforcement cameras
Reporting by Tim Botos, Canton Repository / The Repository
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