Tempe, Arizona Speed Traps

This is one of eight new "Photo Enforcement Areas" in Tempe. The roadway is seven lanes wide with a speed limit of 40 mph! The grace period ended last week 11/30/07.

There’s a photo trap just after crossing the Rio Salado Parkway heading south on Priest. Watch out!

On the north side of E. Southern Ave. between McClintock Dr. and S. Rural Rd., there is a "big brother" white photo-radar van in a school zone. The school zone is a 35 MPH at-all-times zone. It is a very short school area. You see the speed limit sign, with no warning, and if you get by it, over 35 MPH, they have you. If you approach the spot from the east, you will not see the White van until it is too late. I saw it nab 3 unsuspecting citizens as I drove by on the other side. If you don’t know the area, they will most likely pick your pocket there.

There’s a white Photo radar van that sets up on the west side of Kyrene Rd. just about a block North of Carver Rd. It’s there about 3 times a week between the hours of 3:00 pm to about 6:00 pm week days.

Don’t let the name Rural Road fool you. This stretch is a modern 6-lane divided road with no driveways, and yet the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour. In Phoenix or Mesa, a similar road would have a posted speed of 45, or 40 at the least.

Rather than raise the speed limit to the 85th percentile of prevailing traffic speeds to encourage compliance, the City Of Tempe has quietly installed two new permanent speed cameras; one northbound at Rio Salado, and one southbound at 6th Street. There will be a "warning" period in November. Enforcement starts in December.