To the Editor:

Almost all of us have had children, whose safety has been our paramount concern. Certainly, none of us want children exposed to speeding cars as they navigate the steps to and from their schools.

 Ostensibly to address student pedestrian safety, Warwick has installed a series of speed cameras near some Warwick schools. Tickets are now going out to those who exceed the newly posted slower limits.

Many Warwick residents have complained, especially on social media, that the speed camera operation is nothing more than a “money grab” by Warwick officials.

Could there be any foundation to this accusation? Some evidence points to to a “yes” answer.

Hoxsie Elementary School, located on a side street almost a quarter-mile off West Shore Road – so far that it can’t be seen from the busy traffic artery – is the putative reason for speed cameras on West Shore Road.

 Yet Saint Kevin’s Catholic Elementary School, located directly on very heavily traveled Sandy Lane, has no speed cameras.

The comparison of these two schools is just an example that is near where I live. There are also no speed cameras near any of the other Catholic schools in Warwick – to include St. Rose of Lima’s, St. Peter’s, and Bishop Hendricken.

Are some school children more worthy of our safety concerns than others? Are Catholic school children less worthy of our protection than those attending public schools?

 It seems that Warwick officials must either answer “yes” to these two questions or admit that operation of the speed cameras is, indeed, a “money grab.”

Lonnie Barham

Warwick