Understanding Prospect’s ATESD Program
Our Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Device (ATESD) program is a public-safety program administered by the Prospect Police Department. This resource explains the program, the information behind its camera locations, and how citations are reviewed and contested.
We are beginning with Waterbury Road. New Haven Road and Cheshire Road will follow as location features are completed.
Understanding the program
Speed cameras combine speed measurement with photographs documenting an alleged violation. The technology has been used internationally for decades. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dates its first U.S. use to 1987. Today’s programs operate under each state’s own laws, with different rules for approval, review, and hearings.
That history provides context. Prospect’s program must meet Connecticut’s requirements, and its results must be evaluated using local evidence.
Read more: NHTSA: Speed Safety Camera Enforcement .
How municipal ATESD came to Connecticut
- 2023 — State authorization. Public Act 23-116 established an opt-in framework for municipal automated traffic enforcement. The municipal authorization took effect October 1, 2023. It did not require every town to install cameras.
- January 2, 2024 — State guidance. CTDOT released guidance for municipal plans, site-selection criteria, and applications.
- April 9, 2026 — Prospect plan approved. Prospect’s municipal plan records OSTA approval on this date. Its Waterbury Road section sets out the evidence considered for this location.
Sources: Public Act 23-116, §11 ; CTDOT’s January 2024 guidance announcement ; Prospect’s approved plan.
How locations are selected and approved
How locations are selected and approved
- Document the safety concern. The municipality develops a plan identifying proposed locations and supporting information. For Waterbury Road, that includes speed data, crash history, and roadway conditions.
- Complete local public review. The municipality adopts an authorizing ordinance and holds a public hearing on the plan before submitting it for state review.
- Obtain state approval. OSTA reviews the plan for likely traffic-safety benefit and equitable distribution of devices. A proposed location must be included in an approved plan.
- Complete installation and operating requirements. These include advance signs, public awareness, trained operators, and calibration requirements. Equipment and signs in a state-highway right-of-way also require the applicable CTDOT encroachment permit.
State approval of a plan and confirmation of installed conditions are separate matters. The plan explains what was proposed and approved; the roadway photographs help residents understand the approach.
Sources: CTDOT ATESD FAQs ; CGS §14-307e ; CGS §14-307c .
Understanding the locations
Why Waterbury Road? — our first location feature.
Coming next: New Haven Road and Cheshire Road.
Why Waterbury Road?
A busy road with frequent turning movements
The approved municipal plan identifies Waterbury Road (Route 69), south of Oak Lane, as a location for enforcement in both directions. Both cameras are south of Oak Lane. Its site-selection explanation describes businesses, nearby homes, frequent driveways and intersections, narrow shoulders, and limited recovery space. It also identifies restricted visibility at access points and activity associated with nearby Hotchkiss Field.
These conditions were considered alongside traffic-speed data and crash history. The purpose of this location is to encourage sustained compliance with the posted speed limit and reduce roadway risk.
Source: approved municipal plan, printed page 27. These are the documented reasons for selection, not a claim that every recorded crash involved speeding.
Speed studies and site crash history
The speed tables use five days of data: January 20, 21, 28, 29, and 30, 2026. They list 12% of northbound traffic and 10% of southbound traffic at 35 mph or below; the percentages above are calculated from those rounded shares.
The approved plan’s site crash table lists seven crashes dated January 5, 2023 through March 7, 2025, at listed milemarkers 13.16–13.31. Five are classified as property-damage-only crashes and two as injury crashes. “Injury crashes” describes crash classifications, not the number of people injured.
Source: approved plan, printed pages 29–31; speed data credited to All Traffic Data Services for TYLin. The tables’ monthly volumes are projections from average daily counts, not a month of observed vehicles. These are pre-enforcement site-selection records, not an evaluation of camera effectiveness.
What these percentages mean: They describe observations above the posted limit during the study. They are not the percentage of vehicles eligible for a camera citation. The five study days do not describe current speeds or prove the program’s later effects.
What drivers encounter
Southbound: The posted limit is 40 mph at the Waterbury town line, then changes to 35 mph before the camera.
Northbound: Along the full approach shown here, four signs repeat the 35 mph limit before the camera. Drivers entering from side streets may join partway through this sequence.
Advance notice and image capture
The enforcement photograph is taken after the vehicle passes the camera. The advance signs provide notice of enforcement ahead. Recorded events are reviewed before a citation is issued.
Expand a direction below to follow the department photographs in travel order. The sequences are not to scale.
View the southbound approach
1. Town line: 40 mph
2. First southbound 35 mph sign
3. 35 mph / Photo Enforced
4. Standalone photo-enforcement notice
5. Southbound camera
View the northbound approach
1. Center: first 35 mph sign
2. Summit: second 35 mph sign
3. Rosewood: third 35 mph sign
4. Fourth 35 mph sign / Photo Enforced
5. Standalone photo-enforcement notice
6. Northbound camera
How Prospect reviews and adjudicates citations
- Review before issuance. A sworn Prospect police officer reviews the recorded event before a citation is approved. The review includes the plate, vehicle, recorded images, and event information. Events needing additional administrative review can be referred to the ATESD Sergeant.
- Notice to the registered owner. The citation provides the alleged violation, evidence access, payment instructions, and information about contesting it.
- Optional online screening. An owner may submit a written explanation and supporting documents through the screening process. This preliminary review is separate from a formal hearing. A screening finding of liability does not eliminate the right to request a formal hearing within the applicable deadline.
- Formal in-person hearing. An independent civilian hearing officer appointed by the Town considers the evidence and the respondent’s information and decides liability. Department staff administer scheduling and records; the hearing officer makes the hearing determination.
- Assessment and further recourse. Failure to respond, request a hearing, or appear as required may result in a default assessment under the applicable procedures. A timely contested citation awaiting its scheduled review or hearing is not described here as automatically defaulting. A Notice of Assessment provides information about the available court-review process. Follow the instructions and deadlines on the applicable notice.
Screening and a formal hearing are different
Online screening is an optional written review. A formal hearing is conducted in person before an independent civilian hearing officer. Please read the notice for each citation and respond within its stated deadlines.
The Department administers the process; the hearing officer independently determines liability. Statutory framework: CGS §14-307c and CGS §7-152c . General questions: prospectase@prospectpolice.org .
The plan and state approval
The cover of Prospect’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Device Municipal Plan records approval by the Office of the State Traffic Administration (OSTA), within CTDOT, on April 9, 2026. The Waterbury Road section contains the site-selection explanation, proposed signage diagram, speed tables, and site crash history.
Approved ATESD Municipal Plan
Submitted February 19, 2026; cover marked approved April 9, 2026.
Visit CTDOT’s approved-plans page and select Prospect’s approved municipal planWaterbury Road: printed pages 27–31. Approval: cover page. Printed page numbers differ from PDF viewer page numbers.
Questions and assistance
For general public-safety or program questions, contact prospectase@prospectpolice.org. For an individual citation, follow the instructions and deadlines on that notice. Please do not post personal citation information in public comments.
Questions about funds: The Police Department administers the public-safety program and citation process. The Town of Prospect determines the allocation and expenditure of program revenue, subject to applicable law. Please direct revenue and expenditure questions to the Town.
Department photographs supplied for this campaign. Page updated October 23, 2026.