City council approves ordinance introducing speed cameras to Gallup
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
During an April 2024 city council meeting, the councilors listened to a presentation from a representative of NovoaGlobal, a safety equipment supplier. The company was offering the City of Gallup a solution to a common problem: speeding.
The representative, Heidi Traverso, explained that she had been working with the Gallup Police Department for about a year prior to the meeting to collect data regarding speeding on city roads. She shared that data with the council, showing that the City of Gallup has a major speeding problem.
Now, over a year after that initial meeting, the GPD has completed their study and during the June 27 city council meeting City Attorney David Eason presented an ordinance that authorizes the installation and use of automated speed enforcement cameras.
Ordinance No. 2025-4 adds a new chapter to the Gallup City Code that will allow for speed violations to be monitored through fixed speed cameras, which will be monitored by NovoaGlobal and reviewed by the GPD.
Eason said the ordinance is a necessary step to address a growing problem.
“The consensus within the city, most importantly from the [GPD], is that you’re having difficulty enforcing and controlling speeds with the city,” he said. “We’ve had complaints from residents; we’ve had complaints from schools.”
The ordinance allows enforcement of both city and state speed-related violations using camera footage. Violators will receive a notice by mail, with the option to pay a fine of up to $100 or complete four hours of community service. Cases will be handled in Gallup Municipal Court, with an option to appeal in district court in rare circumstances.
During the April 2024 meeting Traverso explained how the cameras could help the GPD.
“[Speed cameras] allow locations around the city to be monitored for speeding and it allows the officers to be involved in the community, or to be following up on their cases or to be handling 911 calls; all those things that require human contact and interaction. That’s where you want your officers spending their time,” Traverso said. “Not outside of a school doing tickets….”
To begin implementing the speed camera program, GPD and NovoaGlobal monitored 16 high traffic areas around town and identified some problem locations with a speed study report.
They found that many people were going 10, and even 15-20 and more miles over the speed limit on roads such as Mentmore Road and Coal Avenue. Traverso found the numbers slightly concerning, and said that Gallup is on par with the much bigger city of Albuquerque when population is factored in.
“These numbers are really high because there’s no intervention right now,” she said. “… After we implement the first 30 days with the warnings and the signs go up, there’s a huge drop, like 70%.”
IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM
The city plans to begin with four camera locations: Junker Bridge on East Aztec, Larry Brian Mitchell Avenue on Montoya Boulevard, Mendoza Road, and the Church Rock extension between Red Rock 10 and Rehoboth.
Gallup Police Chief Erin Toadlena-Pablo said those four cameras are simply a start, and the GPD plans to cover more locations in the future.
In order to handle the influx of speed-related cases, the Gallup Municipal Court is expected to hire a full-time clerk to manage the new caseload.
Meanwhile, the GPD won’t be adding personnel at the moment, opting instead to use existing staff and overtime for processing violations.
Revenue generated from the new system will go to the GPD, but Eason said it isn’t the driving force behind the ordnance.
“It will generate some revenue, hopefully enough to pay for itself…. But it’s safety first and foremost,” he said.
The city council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance. Now, it will take effect 30 days after adoption, giving time for a potential referendum challenge. Following that, the city manager’s staff will begin collecting the cameras. Eason estimated that the procurement process would take 45 to 60 days, so cameras could be up and running by late fall.
