West Philadelphia Speed Cameras Now Issue $100 to $150 Tickets on Route 13

• Eleven Philadelphia Parking Authority speed camera locations on state Route 13 in West Philadelphia began issuing tickets at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 30.
• Fines run $100, $125 and $150 for drivers 11 mph or more over the limit, with no license points and no insurance surcharge.
• The authority says speeding on Roosevelt Boulevard fell 95% after cameras went in, and the West Philadelphia stretch is the final piece of its Route 13 rollout.

Eleven Locations Where a Heavy Foot Now Costs Money

The warning letters have stopped. Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) cameras on the West Philadelphia stretch of state Route 13 switched to live ticketing at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, ending a 60-day warning period that began Aug. 31. Drivers who were recorded speeding in those two months received a warning in the mail. Anyone recorded now gets a bill.

The threshold is 11 mph over the posted limit. At that point the fine is $100. It rises to $125 for 20 to 29 mph over and $150 for 30 mph or more. The ticket is a nonmoving civil violation, so no points land on a driver’s license, and the PPA says a camera ticket cannot be used by an insurer for a merit rating or a rate surcharge.

The cameras run around the clock. The PPA says they operate 24 hours a day, every day, so a car 11 mph over the limit at 3 a.m. is ticketed the same as one at noon.

Where the Route 13 Cameras Stand

Route 13 in West Philadelphia runs along Baltimore, University, West Girard and Ridge avenues and three numbered streets. The PPA lists eleven camera locations, and some cover traffic in both directions.

The blocks are the 6000, 5600 and 4900 blocks of Baltimore Avenue in both directions; the 4300 block of Baltimore Avenue eastbound; the 4200 block westbound; the 300 block of South University Avenue in both directions; the 200 block of North 38th Street in both directions; the 400 block of North 34th Street southbound; the 3300 block of West Girard Avenue in both directions; the 2000 block of North 33rd Street in both directions; and the 3400 block of Ridge Avenue in both directions.

This is the second phase of the Route 13 rollout. The first phase covers the Northeast: six locations on Frankford Avenue, Levick Street and Robbins Street, where fines began June 26, 2026 on a 25 mph stretch. The PPA calls West Philadelphia the final stretch of Route 13. On the Northeast section, 36 mph in a 25 zone is enough to trigger a $100 ticket. Signs mark every camera zone, the PPA says.

How the Cameras Decide Who Gets a Ticket

Each unit pairs a 3D tracking radar with a high-resolution camera and a high-definition video camera. The radar flags any vehicle faster than the posted limit and triggers both. The plate comes from a close-up still, and the record also holds the time, date, posted limit, measured speed, location, lane and direction of travel, plus a video clip as evidence.

A person checks the file before a ticket goes out. The PPA reviews the data and images, then the Philadelphia Police Department reviews the violation. The ticket is mailed to the registered owner of the car, based on the plate photographed from the rear. Motorcycles are covered too, whether the plate is mounted horizontally or vertically.

The PPA’s vendor, Verra Mobility, captures the plates. The PPA says some motorists try to make plates unreadable, so the automated system looks for fake plates in nonstandard formats, cars with no rear plate and fabricated temporary paper plates.

Why Pennsylvania Cities Can Do This at All

Speed cameras on Pennsylvania roads were illegal until the state legislature acted in October 2018, when it allowed a five-year pilot on Roosevelt Boulevard between 9th Street and the Bucks County line. Philadelphia City Council authorized the Automated Speed Enforcement System in Chapter 12 of the Philadelphia Code by a unanimous vote in spring 2019. In December 2023 the legislature made the Roosevelt Boulevard program permanent and let Philadelphia add up to five more corridors. In June 2023 the city had already widened its local ordinance to cover Route 611, which includes most of Broad Street, and Route 13.

This is Pennsylvania law and city ordinance, not a federal program. The PPA says the city can install cameras on only five state routes outside Roosevelt Boulevard, which makes Route 13 one of a limited set. Other states run their own rules, and speed cameras expanding in cities nationwide now carry fines of up to $248 elsewhere.

The city picks locations with data. The Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) analyzes citywide crash, speed and injury data, using five years of records on deaths, injuries, speeding and pedestrian involvement, and then sets the posted limit for each camera. The PPA works with the city and PennDOT to install and switch them on after the 60-day warning period. Motoring Chronicle covered the Route 13 camera plan in August, before the warning period began.

What the Cameras Have Done on Roosevelt Boulevard and Broad Street

The program started on Roosevelt Boulevard in June 2020. Gabe Roberts, acting executive director of the PPA, said: “Speed cameras dramatically reduced speeding along Roosevelt Boulevard by a staggering 95%.” The authority’s program page says violations issued there have fallen 95% from June 2020 to now even as traffic rose every year, and that fatal and serious injury crashes dropped 21% and pedestrian crashes dropped 50%. Those figures come from the PPA.

Roosevelt Boulevard has 10 locations with four cameras each. Broad Street has 15 locations with 31 cameras. The PPA installed the Broad Street cameras in 2025, and five school zones followed in April 2026.

The ticket data shows who gets caught. Across Broad Street and Roosevelt Boulevard, the most common violation was 11 to 19 mph over the limit, the $100 tier. Pennsylvania-registered vehicles made up the largest share. Philadelphia residents account for about 56% of Roosevelt Boulevard violations and 59% of Broad Street violations.

Money from the program has a defined route. The PPA says fees cover equipment, administration and police review, and any surplus goes to a transportation safety grant program. The camera vendor receives a fixed monthly fee that does not rise with ticket volume. Michael A. Carroll, deputy managing director of the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, said: “Revenue collected by PPA, above what covers automated enforcement program costs, is used to implement more traffic safety improvement programs in Philadelphia.”

What to Do If a Camera Ticket Arrives

Read the notice first. It carries the instructions for a hearing, and the deadlines are strict. The PPA says that failing to pay, failing to request a review or failing to contest liability on time counts as an admission of liability and can add fees.

To pay, use any of four routes. Online payment goes through the PPA violations page at philapark.org/violations. By mail, send the bottom portion of the violation with a check or money order payable to the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Speed Camera Enforcement, P.O. Box 8268, Philadelphia, PA 19101, and write the notice number on it. By phone, call 1-866-790-4111 with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express; the call adds a $4 convenience fee. In person, pay at the PPA Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cash is accepted only in person.

To dispute, use the hearing request form that comes with the violation. Disputes go to Philadelphia’s Office of Administrative Review. A driver can request a hearing within 30 days of the date on the Notice of Violation; without a payment or a hearing request in that window, the right to a hearing is lost and additional penalties are added to the fine. State law allows a challenge within 30 days of receipt on three grounds: the driver was not behind the wheel, the car had been sold, or the car was reported stolen before the violation. A lost ticket can be tracked down by calling 1-866-790-4111 with the plate number ready.

The simplest fix is to watch the speedometer at the eleven locations, from the Baltimore Avenue blocks to Ridge Avenue. A driver at 10 mph over the posted limit is under the threshold. At 11 mph over, the lowest bill is $100.

The cameras photograph the rear plate and the PPA mails the ticket to the registered owner, so the person who receives the bill is not always the person who was driving. The 30 day defenses in state law cover that case.

Want more car content? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for the best automotive news and analysis on the internet.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow us on Microsoft Start.