Red Light Camera News Lombard (IL) to get rid of its lone red-light camera
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=408394
Lombard to get rid of its lone red-light camera
By Marie Wilson | Daily Herald
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Lombard, the town that houses the headquarters of the area's predominant red-light camera company, will soon be without any red light cameras itself.
The village board is scheduled today to terminate its contract with RedSpeed, which operates cameras at North Avenue and Route 53.
"I never have been and never will be a big fan of red light cameras because I don't see their point," said Trustee Bill Ware.
Lombard officials will notify RedSpeed Friday of the decision, said Village Manager David Hulseberg. The company will then have 60 days to remove the cameras and underground sensors that determine whether drivers stop before the white line.
The sensors at the intersection already have not been working for about a month because of road work by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Hulseberg said.
A representative of RedSpeed did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
Lombard officials have long said they intended to use red light cameras as a safety tool.
"We want to change driving habits," Lombard Police Chief Ray Byrne told the Daily Herald in March 2008. "I want to cut down on accidents. This is not intended as a revenue generator."
However, the cameras have not brought in significant revenue for the village, Ware said.
"We're not making any money off it because our village is different ... our police department has a different thought process," Ware said.
Lombard police give tickets only for right turns on red when drivers blatantly fail to stop or yield, said Deputy Police Chief Dane Cuny.
"Our position is that we don't want our officers clicking on a violation that they wouldn't stand at a vehicle and give a citation," Cuny said. "We're looking at traffic safety and it's not done for revenue purposes."
Safety improvements from the cameras are difficult to measure, Cuny said. After cameras were installed in May 2009, accidents at North Avenue and Route 53 decreased 31 percent during a ten-month period compared to a ten-month period before the cameras were in place, Cuny said. But accidents increased at the intersection of Finley Road and Roosevelt Road, where cameras were installed in February 2009 but later taken down.
"I personally felt it was more of a danger than a safety plus," said Trustee Keith Giagnorio. "I think we're better off without them."
Subscribe to this comment's feedwritten by Henry Bentley , September 16, 2010
Harry you appear to be as passionate about this issue as I am. I don't know if your game plan would do much to solve the problem. Yet the bad boy in me would like to be there with you. My approach would be to start some protest, get some media attention and force a public vote on the issue. Our records have shown that everyplace that has had a public vote the cameras came down.
Good luck and keep us posted
written by Harry Statel , September 16, 2010
If your city is like my city, those red-light traffic cameras are popping up everywhere. Erected in the name of "safety", their true purpose is to create revenue for government.
A recent post about the Mayor of Red Bankistan in Tennessee and his love of surveillance is found here. http://wp.me/p10KwY-5O
It seems that some citizens around the US are getting tired of this. Here's my suggestion as I posted in the local newspaper.
Maybe a "Night of Target the Traffic Cameras" with Paint-ball guns, covered license plates, Johnny Cash black clothes, no set day or time,etc. more here. . . http://wp.me/p10KwY-hW
Harry Statel
http://harrystatel.wordpress.com
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