Gaithersburg will put stop sign cameras near schools for two weeks beginning Nov. 9, but drivers will not be ticketed or warned. The city says the goal is to collect data on how often drivers fail to stop.
The police chief briefed the Mayor and Council on the plan at the Nov. 2 meeting. The study will run from Nov. 9 to Nov. 23 and is, in the chief’s words to the council, data collection only. The vendor is providing the devices at no cost to the city.
What state law allows
The study rests on House Bill 601, which the governor approved on May 12 as Chapter 557. The law took effect July 1 and lets Gaithersburg and Rockville use stop sign monitoring systems in school zones as part of a pilot program for three years, ending June 30, 2029. It authorizes the cities to act but does not require them to, and each must first pass a local law. Both cities must report results to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 1, 2028, according to the bill’s fiscal and policy note.
The chief told the council that the school-zone limit is the key restriction. No decision has been made about enforcement, he said, and any future program would come back to the Mayor and Council.
What the city will measure
Staff laid out four goals: collect data on stop sign compliance, gather information on broader traffic safety conditions such as volume, peak times and conflicts with pedestrians and bicyclists, evaluate the technology for reliability, accuracy and privacy concerns, and use the results to make recommendations.
The chief said the devices are license plate readers and are not Flock cameras. He said they are not intended for general law enforcement and have no tracking capability. The city also plans to review the vendor’s privacy and data-management practices.
If the first study goes well, a second study with a different vendor is planned. The chief said that would let the city compare technologies and build a fair procurement process if it decides to adopt a program.
How sites were chosen
Locations had to be in school zones, the chief said. Staff also weighed pedestrian activity, vulnerable road users, traffic conditions and geographic spread across the city. Public works helped with the selection. The sites are all-way stops, and the chief said council and community complaints about stop signs shaped the list.
The chief said being picked does not mean a site needs automated enforcement. The council presentation did not name the locations in the meeting recording. The city plans a public release listing the locations, dates and purpose, with outreach before and during the study, and will direct questions to the Gaithersburg Police Department.
Council questions
Councilmember Lisa Henderson asked whether visible devices would change driver behavior and skew the data. The chief said behavior does change when drivers see cameras, as it does with speed cameras, and that the city will have to decide whether to reuse the same locations for a second study.
Councilmember Robert Wu asked whether the law requires cameras to be conspicuous and whether stop signs could be disguised so drivers do not know which have cameras. The chief said the pilot law is not detailed on that point, said the devices are fairly noticeable, and said he would research whether an advertising or notice requirement applies. Wu said he wanted the technology focused on enforcement and not on unintended later uses.
Residents with questions can call the Gaithersburg Police Department.
