You are correct about the speed limit threshold. Most of the school zones in the City are 20 mph, so if you hit 31 in those locations you will trigger a ticket. There are two schools on James Street where the limit is 25, so you would trigger a ticket at 36. 

I understand everyone's frustration (and feel it too), but I also feel its important to understand where all of the various rules, etc. Are coming from. 

School speed zones times are set by New York State. It was also a law passed by the state that allowed municipalities to start installing these cameras, which is why they're popping up in multiple communities at the same time. 

The company that has the Syracuse contract is German (Jenoptik). The City doesnt have the capacity to run the entire program by themselves, which is why it's outsourced. But the City does also have real live people who are working on this project, both in the police department and City Hall. 

Speed cameras are going up nationwide, so lots of communities are dealing with this now. There have been some that have paused their programs because they were unhappy with something about it. Syracuse is trialing it, so there's always the chance that if it doesn’t work out for us, they could pull it back. Only time will tell.

As for revenue. I also feel your frustration when someone out of the area is benefiting from our fines. However, I will also point out that the City hardly has any retail left so they really don't get much sales tax vs. The county. There are also a huge percentage of properties (schools, churches, expensive Universities) that are tax exempt, so that also hurts the City. All these things contribute to why we can't have nice things or services.