Cameras Coming To Four Intersections

Cameras designed to catch red-light runners in the act will be put to use at the intersections where city officials figured they'd be needed most.
The cameras should be in place by March 2, but the program won't be as extensive as first envisioned because of problems finding places to put the devices, Police Chief George Turner said.
American Traffic Solutions has recommended the installation of five cameras to monitor four of the city's busiest junctions. The recommendations are based on a study of the intersections by the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company under contract with the city.
ATS put up temporary cameras at six intersections in September to determine which ones should take priority and saw more than 90 violations in one day, said Turner, who is preparing a report for the city council.
"Obviously, there's a lot of red-light running going on," said Turner, who helped convince the city council to approve the cameras that still continue to draw controversy throughout the country.
The cameras monitored the intersections for a total of eight hours from about 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25. The devices caught 93 of what ATS officials determined to be "clear infractions."
The junction with the most violations, with 24, was West Jefferson Street and Cobb Road. The intersection of Broad Street at the State Road 50 truck bypass had 15 violations.
Both intersections will get cameras.
Not every lane at each intersection will be monitored, however. Turner said the company ran into a common roadblock: nowhere to put the cameras.
Cameras cannot be placed on the public right of way or the traffic light poles or wires. That leaves city property or private property with the permission of the property owner.
As part of the contract, ATS handles the placement of the cameras and talks with property owners. The company's recommendations are based on whether the company was able to site the cameras, Turner said.
For example, only the northbound lanes at Broad and the truck bypass will be monitored.
The city council approved a contract with ATS in May at the urging of Turner, who cited several studies that showed the cameras reduce red-light running and included crash statistics at the city's busy intersections that he said indicated a need for the devices.
Installation of the cameras comes at no cost to the city. Instead, ATS will take $40 from every $125 ticket issued to an offender, leaving $85 for the city. The fines are mailed to motorists based on the tag number on the car.
The fines would be civil penalties and would not cause points to be added to a motorist's license.
While Turner and the city council members who approved the program insist the goal of the program is to improve public safety, the test day proved the program has the potential to be a healthy revenue maker for the city.
Even if the average number of infractions from all four intersections comes to, say, 10 a day, that would still bring in more than $456,000 in a year. The city would get more than $310,000 of that and ATS would take $146,000.
The city can escape the contract after a six-month trial period. If the council decides to do so, however, ATS would receive all the revenue raised during that time frame, Turner said.
ATS officials did not return calls seeking comment Monday.
Mayor Joe Bernardini, the sole council member to vote against the program, said he's still skeptical that the problem is serious enough in the city to warrant cameras. He said the city may wind up looking merely revenue-hungry.
"The money is not important to me, it's the public safety aspect, but I guess you have to have the money to make it a penalty," Bernardini said.
Vice Mayor Lara Bradburn agreed, saying the city should never count on it as a revenue source.
But, she said, "I'm convinced this is going to save lives," she said.

The intersections

A total of five cameras will be perched above four Brooksville intersections to catch red-light runners, though not every lane of the intersections will be monitored. Here are the intersections and the lanes that will be in the camera's range:
Broad Street at the State Road 50 bypass, northbound lanes.
West Jefferson Street at Cobb Road, northbound and southbound lanes.
Broad Street at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, northbound lanes.
Broad at Wiscon Road, northbound lanes.