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In an image provided by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, a white SUV is seen through the lens of a speed camera on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. The bureau said the vehicle was traveling at 72 mph, well in excess of the 40 mph speed limit.

(Portland Bureau of Transportation)

Portland's first set of automated speed cameras is catching far fewer speeders than expected in its first weeks of operation.

That could mean millions less in ticket revenue for the city and state. But Portland transportation officials say the numbers prove the cameras are working, and that what revenue does come in will still cover the cost of operating them.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation activated its first speed cameras, on Southwest Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, on Aug. 25. It started with a a 30-day warning period, during which warnings were mailed out but no citations were issued.

Prior to that, per pneumatic tube sensors, an average 1,417 drivers a day were speeding down the high-crash road. By the end of the warning period, that number stood at 72 a day - a 95 percent decline.

The city said it designed the program to act as a deterrent, not a speed trap. Ahead of each camera is a sign warning about camera speed limit enforcement, a speed limit sign and a sign that tells drivers their current speed.

"The idea is we're giving people the knowledge and opportunity to follow the law and avoid a ticket," said Gabe Graff, who manages the camera project for the bureau.

Even so, the city saw speeding decline faster than expected, Graff said.

The state cut its revenue forecast by $10 million a biennium for the camera program, which was approved by the Legislature in 2015. Salem receives 70 percent of each fine, which is set at a presumptive $160.

The state Office of Economic Analysis said it had expected all four proposed speed-camera sites to be operating already, but Portland has activated only one, which is issuing fewer tickets than expected.

The others -- on Southeast Division Street, Northeast Marine Drive and Southeast 122nd Avenue -- will be activated in the first half of 2017.

The cameras are operated by the transportation arm of Xerox. The city has agreed pay the company $3,195 a month per system, plus a fee for each citation payment collected.

The cameras are expected to pay for themselves, Graff said. Any revenue beyond that must be put toward roadway safety projects.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus