Baltimore approves $8.9M contract with American Traffic Solutions for bus-lane cameras

Baltimore’s Board of Estimates this week approved a roughly $9 million contract to deploy automated cameras enforcing dedicated bus lanes at five city corridors; the agreement is described elsewhere as an $8.9 million, five-year contract with American Traffic Solutions. The program targets unauthorized vehicles that block bus lanes and aims to move from a warning period into citation issuance after a public education blitz.

The first enforcement locations are specific stretches identified by the Baltimore Department of Transportation: Baltimore Street from Hanover Street to Charles Street, Lombard Street from Calvert Street to Light Street, Pratt Street from Commerce Street to Gay Street, North Avenue eastbound from Homewood Avenue to Oakhill Avenue, and North Avenue westbound from Druid Hill Avenue to Woodbrook Avenue. Officials say cameras will be placed at intersections and midblocks, with placement guided by crash and congestion patterns.

Civil fines for drivers caught in red‑marked bus lanes can reach up to $75, and the system will be calibrated to allow legal right turns at the next intersection to avoid citing drivers who follow the law. Images captured by the cameras will be sent for human review before any citation is issued, and DOT staff have said the rollout will include a warning period so drivers have time to adjust before citations are mailed.

City leaders framed the program as a reliability and safety measure. A DOT spokesperson said, "The automated bus lane enforcement program is designed to encourage safe driving behavior, support dependable transit, and protect vulnerable roadway users." Councilman Zac Blanchard underscored the mobility rationale: "We really need our bus lanes to be unencumbered by private vehicles that shouldn't be in it." Transportation Director Veronica P. McBeth added the emphasis on goals beyond revenue, saying the focus is "on safety and reliability, not turning the lanes into a cash machine."

The camera contract is distinct from a parallel West North Avenue technology project. The West North Avenue Development Authority is spending nearly $400,000 to install Iteris LiDAR devices at five intersections along a 2.5‑mile stretch between Interstate 83 and West North Avenue’s western terminus, with units slated at West Mount Royal Avenue, McCulloh Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, North Fulton Avenue and Bloomingdale Road by the end of January. LiDAR is being described by officials and researchers as a non‑camera sensor that distinguishes among cars, trucks, buses and pedestrians and is intended to produce analytics for safety and traffic‑flow changes. Two "smart" intersections from Morgan State University research already exist in Northeast Baltimore; planners view West North Avenue as the first major corridor-scale deployment.

Transit performance figures cited by an MTA official show bus on‑time performance improving 8 percent on weekdays and Saturdays and roughly 6.5 percent on Sundays since bus lanes were installed on comparable corridors. City transportation staff did not provide updated congestion or crash data for the West North Avenue corridor when asked.

Several operational questions remain unanswered in public filings and statements: the precise installation schedule for the five camera locations, the make and model of cameras to be used, the date when tickets will begin after the warning period, any projected revenue from fines, staffing details for human image review, and a formal data retention or privacy policy for captured images. DOT spokesperson Kathy Dominick has described camera calibration and placement plans, but the city has not yet published a complete implementation timeline or detailed crash and congestion impact data that would be used to measure whether the technology will be expanded citywide.