Lots of automated traffic enforcement news!

The Post is reporting that Virginia’s experiment with red light cameras has come to an end after a state House committee killed Senate measures that would have done away with the experimenting period’s expiration date. Do we hear cheering coming from across the Potomac?

And commuters who use MacArthur Boulevard, 16th Street NW, Michigan Avenue or Benning Road: Beware. The District’s new permanent speed camera enforcement zones are now complete, ready to rake in cash for the District (and we assume slow down traffic).

From the AP, via WJLA,:

For now, warnings will be sent to speeders who roar past the cameras. But starting March 21st, tickets will come in the mail. Those can cost as much as $200, depending how far over the speed limit you are.

And they’re really hard to miss. Anyone who gets ensnared in the speed trap probably deserves a ticket just because the new zones are easily spotted with pavement markings.

We were riding the D6 bus earlier this week, when the bus — which had been cruising at a good clip down MacArthur Boulevard (above the speed limit) — approached the first camera at the Georgetown Reservoir, it slowed down very quickly. It looks like the people are already starting to figure these things out. And what we’re wondering, does the speed enforcement zone only include the curb lane? The pavement markings suggest that.