Jay Beeber of Anti Camera Group Safer Streets LA:  Thank You All!
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:34:31 -0700

http://saferstreetsla.org/
 

As the last few hours of the City’s Red-Light Camera Program winds down, I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your help and support.  This was a long, hard fought victory and we did it together.  Every action you took, whether it was sending emails, making phone calls, or showing up downtown to voice your opinion, made a huge difference.  We couldn’t have done it without you.  The camera company spent more than $150,000 on lobbyists and we beat them with about 100 bucks.  I hope this encourages you to stay involved because you can make a difference.  Never doubt what a dedicated group of concerned individuals can accomplish with no experience, no money, and no political connections. 

So take a moment now and pat yourselves on the back.  We won!

That’s not to say that those who profit from ticketing hundreds of thousands of motorists for no reason, and their puppets in city hall, are going to give up.  They’ll be back.  Count on it.  Only next time it won’t be so easy for them to get this scam back up and running because we’ll all be here, reminding our elected officials that there will be consequences to selling out the people to the corporate lobbyists.  That’s why it’s important for you to spend about 30 more seconds and thank those council members who lead the charge against the cameras in city hall.  We need to reinforce their positive behavior.  Just click on this link http://saferstreetsla.org/contact-3/ and send the email like you’ve done before.  Feel free to change it up or add a personal note.  As we’ve seen, it makes a big difference.

So what’s next?  First, we have to make sure they dismantle the camera system.  They’re going to resist this because they think keeping the cameras in the intersections will make it easier to bring them back.  We’ll let you know if we need you to take any action on this.

Also, we have to ensure that the Department of Transportation follows the will of the City Council and lengthens the yellow light times like they have been directed to.  Again, they’re resisting, but we’re going to keep at them until our intersections are made safer with proper signal timing.

Finally, there are other towns, both locally and across the country, who still haven’t gotten the message that red-light cameras don’t make us any safer and are just a ticketing scheme to enrich local governments, for profit camera companies, and the auto insurance industry.  We’re going to start looking at other places where we can bring down the cams and we’ll work with lawmakers at both the State and Federal level to introduce legislation that improves intersection safety and eliminates the argument for red-light cameras.  If you’d like to help, please let us know.

So thanks again.  We’ll keep you posted as new things develop.

All the best,

Jay Beeber

Safer Streets L.A.

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