Greenbelt Road Speed Camera Near School Zone Draws Driver Complaints

Lee Ealley drove eastbound Greenbelt Road multiple times a day. By the time his College Park household had collected roughly 10 tickets from a single speed camera near the T-Mobile store, he had a word for the citation pattern: "It's erratic as hell."

The camera, located just outside Greenbelt's municipal boundaries in the eastbound travel lane, is operated by the Town of Berwyn Heights using an automated enforcement system provided by vendor Altumint Inc. Positioned to enforce the school-zone speed limit and reduce speeding near children and pedestrians, the device drew sharp criticism from drivers who said the citations they received did not reflect their actual speeds.

For Ealley, the financial toll compounded with each arriving envelope. He said most of his citations listed speeds close to the 12-miles-per-hour-over-the-limit minimum Maryland law requires before a speed camera can issue a ticket. Even after he became aware of the camera and adjusted his driving, the tickets kept arriving. "I'm not Rockefeller," he said. "When you pile up $40 at a time, it adds up."

A driver identified only as Pinto brought a more forensic skepticism to the complaints. His concerns about the Greenbelt Road camera grew from prior encounters with Altumint's equipment in the Riverdale Park area of Prince George's County, where he said he received multiple tickets and spent considerable time analyzing video evidence, timestamps and roadway markings to calculate his actual speed. The experience left him unwilling to pay citations he considered unfounded. "I don't mind suffering the consequences when I do something wrong," Pinto said. "But I definitely don't want to pay for something that I know I didn't do."

Both drivers were among residents who questioned the device's calibration, the placement of warning signage, the distance used to calculate speed, and whether the captured footage accurately reflected what happened on the road. Critics also raised the perception that cameras near jurisdictional borders serve revenue interests more than safety ones.

The cross-boundary setup itself drew scrutiny. The camera sits just outside Greenbelt's limits but is operated by Berwyn Heights, raising questions about which municipality bears accountability when drivers contest citations. Greenbelt Road runs adjacent to neighborhoods and schools, and that arrangement amplified local interest in how the program is overseen.

Drivers who believe a citation was issued in error can seek review under Maryland's automated enforcement statute. Greenbelt's process allows a local designee to examine contested citations and void them if found erroneous. Neither the Town of Berwyn Heights nor Altumint offered public statements on the camera's calibration history, citation totals or signage compliance.