Albemarle adds more speed and bus stop‑arm cameras in school zones

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Albemarle County is joining the long list of schools expanding its school zone speed camera program for safety reasons.

According to a release shared by the county on July 30, the county will implement speed enforcement cameras on Wednesday, Aug. 13. It will reportedly be operational in the school zone on Rockfish Gap Turnpike (U.S. 250) in Crozet, adjacent to Western Albemarle High School, Henley Middle School and Brownsville Elementary School.

“We’ve seen firsthand how effective this program can be in changing driver behavior,” said Captain Jason Marden with the Albemarle County Police Department’s Special Operations Division. “Reducing speeds in our school zones is a simple but powerful way to protect children traveling to and from school in our community.”

This builds on the success from when they initially began installing cameras near the Lambs Lane Campus, which consists of Albemarle High School, Journey Middle School and Greer Elementary School last school year.

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As a result, the county saw a 49% decrease in speeding events on the north side and a 42% decrease on the southbound side after the first year of the program.

For the 2025-26 school year, the county will also implement stop arm cameras on select school buses, allowing them to automatically detect and record vehicles illegally passing school buses while stop arms and flashing red lights are activated, per a release from the county.

“Our school bus drivers witness dangerous and illegal passing on their routes nearly every day. Adding stop arm cameras will help hold drivers accountable," said Jamie Gellner, Director of Transportation for Albemarle County Public Schools. "We’re grateful for our partnership with the Albemarle County Police Department and their continued support in keeping our students safe on their way to and from school."

The county will implement a 30-day warning period after the activation of the cameras on Rockfish Gap Turnpike, and the storm arm school bus cameras will begin on the first day of school.

Full enforcement will begin on Monday, Sept. 15.