Cameras to catch speeders and red-light runners are making a comeback in two Minnesota cities.

Minneapolis and Mendota Heights are both working on plans to launch a pilot program outlined under a new state law designed for cameras to make streets safer, but with more guardrails in place.

On Thursday afternoon, Minneapolis city leaders outlined the next steps on how it plans to roll out the limited number of cameras and enforce speeds and traffic lights.

“We’re not taking a picture of anyone. These cameras can only be used for the automated traffic enforcement. They can’t be used for anything else,” said Ethan Fawley, program coordinator for Vision Zero in Minneapolis.

The last time red light cameras were in Minneapolis was 2007, when the state supreme court said the city did not have the authority. But this program is crafted differently.

The program in Minneapolis will start as early as August 2025 with five cameras within a few blocks of a school that’s identified as an unsafe traffic area. They plan to start with cameras that enforce the speed limit and the program will grow later on with red light cameras.

The goal, according to Fawley, is to save lives. In the last two years, at least 33 people have been killed in Minneapolis from speeding or running red lights.

“Many of these is they’re just crossing the street or driving, going through an interseciton and now their life is over,” he said.

In passing the new law, lawmakers tried to take into account ongoing privacy concerns.

Fawley said its cameras will only take a picture of the license plate, citations will not go on a drivers record and they will be issued to the owner of a vehicle, not a driver. He also said anyone can contest a citation by signing a form saying they were not driving.

“We have to do the pilot well,” Fawley said. “I am not naive. I know some people have concerns and those are fair.”

First time citations will be a warning and the next will cost $40.

Fawley said it is not about making money, it’s about changing behavior.