Speed camera for RVC — eventually

Keep an eye out while driving through Rockville Centre, because a speed camera is going to be coming — eventually.

Nassau County started installing the cameras in school districts last month after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law earlier in the summer allowing the county to put up one camera in each school district. But while drivers in districts like Merrick and Long Beach have started slowing down (or getting ticketed), Rockville Centre drivers haven’t been ticketed yet.

The county is still rolling out the cameras in its 56 school districts, and about half have been installed so far. Tickets for speeding the cameras catch are $80.

“The use of enforcement cameras is purely one of safety,” said Chris Mistron, the traffic coordinator for the county’s Department of Public Works. “Revenue is a result of bad behavior and historically, where photo enforcement for speed has been implemented, revenue decreases.”

The location for the Rockville Centre camera has not yet been chosen. And local officials have no idea where it’s going to go.

“We have not been consulted,” said Superintendent Dr. William Johnson. “We know nothing about it.”

Police Commissioner Charles Gennario was consulted, but said the final decision of where to put the camera will be made by the county DPW.

“I’ve been pushing for Watson,” he said. “They’re leaning toward Covert or Hewitt.

All three elementary schools are located on busy streets: Covert is on Long Beach Road, Watson is on Lakeview Avenue and Hewitt is on Hempstead Avenue. The county is still undecided where the camera is going to go, and has given no firm indication of where it could end up or when it will be installed.

“A site in the Rockville Centre School District is still under review,” said Judge John Marks, executive director of the county Traffic and Parking Violations Agency.

Officials in Rockville Centre are hopeful that the camera will end up in one of those three locations.

“People speed the most, I think, on Long Beach Road and Hempstead Avenue,” Johnson said. “But a third location would be Lakeview Ave. by Watson. One of those three locations, I would think, we really need to get people conscious of speed.”