Red Light Camera News Fremont-based group expected to occupy major intersections once a month
http://www.mercurynews.com/fremont/ci_19775189
Fremont-based group expected to occupy major intersections once a month
by Wes Bowers
Posted: 01/19/2012 09:25:19 AM PST
A Fremont man who has been urging city leaders to change its red light camera policy has organized a small group of like-minded individuals to protest the devices at major intersections throughout the East Bay.
Roger Jones hopes his actions will attract more people who believe longer yellow lights at monitored intersections will cut down on the number of motorists who run red lights not the cameras.
He held an inaugural meeting to prepare for his first protest Monday at Mountain Mike's Pizza in the Brookvale Shopping Center.
"I think this will start slow, but hopefully we'll get some more numbers to join us," Jones said.
He appeared before the Fremont City Council in June 2010, when the city approved a new contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., to upgrade existing cameras and install five new ones throughout the city.
At the time, Jones urged the city to seek a less expensive contract with another company to see a decrease in the number of red light violations. He also suggested the city increase its yellow light times by one second to give motorists a longer period to slow down when approaching intersections.
Last January, Jones addressed the council and said Fremont only adds one-tenth of a second to its three-second yellow lights. He added between Nov. 1, 2009 and Oct. 31, 2010 there were 11,062 red light violations in the city.
City of Newark, he said, increased its yellow lights by seven-tenths of a second and saw just 575 violations in the same time frame.
However, city staff said its yellow light times are already one-second longer than state standards set forth by the Department of Transportation.
Staff, as well as Fremont Police Chief Craig Steckler, suggested Jones lobby that department if he wants standards changed.
Jones has since been urging other communities to increase their yellow light times, and that is one of the main points he wants to drive home in his protests.
Howard Mora, a Fremont resident who suggested the protest idea to Jones, claimed the red light cameras utilized by many communities across the state are being used for revenue purposes, not safety.
He agreed a longer yellow light at intersections would solve some of the violation problems.
"If safety was the primary objective, (cities) could add seven-tenths of a second at yellow lights," he said.
Along with longer yellow lights, the group of about 10 would like to reduce the violation fee for those who turn right on a red light.
With the average fine for a red light violation pegged at about $480, Jones' group wants to see that amount reduced even eliminated for those who turn on red lights.
"There should be some kind of overlaying constitutional law about attacking one particular group of people," Oakland resident Michael McMillan said.
Jones and Mora said what riles people the most is the amount of the fine. They said if violators were asked to only pay as much as $50 for not stopping at a light, there would be no complaints.
"(The courts) get so many convictions from right turns on red," Mora said. "We're just doing what we've been taught all our lives, and we get a $480 fine."
With the option to attend traffic school, motorists are paying upward of $500 after a violation, Jones said.
The protest is tentatively planned Feb. 4 at the Fremont Boulevard and Mowry Avenue intersection.
Planning to stand on at least two corners there for about an hour, the group also intends to occupy intersections in Newark, Union City and possibly Hayward over time.
Ultimately, Jones is hoping City of Fremont as well as other cities will stop using the cameras altogether.
"If we could get one city to say Ôno' to these, it could be a domino effect," he said.
For more information about the red light camera protest, visit meetup.com/
Red-Light-Camera-Protest-Group-of-Southern-Alameda-County.
Contact Wes Bowers at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or 510-661-9920. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/milpitas post and twitter.com/milpitaspost.
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