http://cragaurora.com/

Current Investigations
Red Light Camera Investigation
January 4, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 (Aurora) - The City of Aurora recently announced the expansion of their Red Light Camera (RLC) system, touting the increased safety aspect as the main goal of the program.

Jim Frye, a member of Citizens for Responsible Aurora Government (CRAG), submitted two Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests with the city to learn more about the validity of the safety claims, determine how much revenue the red light camera's were generating, obtain a copy of the vendor contract and understand what future plans are in the works.

Aurora Red Light Camera Program: Safety or Revenue?
Copies of the original CORA and the follow-up CORA request can be viewed here:

July28-2010CORA.pdf  http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/July28-2010CORA.pdf
Sept04-2010CORA.pdf  http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/Sept04-2010CORA.pdf
Dec22-2010CORA.pdf   http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/RedLightDec22-2010-3rdRequest.pdf

The city's response to each CORAs can be viewed here:

Response-to-ORR991.pdf  http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/Response-to-ORR991.pdf
Response-to-MrFryeORR991.pdf  http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/Response-to-MrFryeORR991.pdf
Response-to-Frye-1-3-2011 http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/Response-to-1089b.pdf

Highlights of the findings include:

The city currently has four red light camera systems installed
 

This past summer, the city signed a contract to install ten additional cameras by February 2011, for a total of 14 red light camera intersections in the city.
 

As of July 2010, 43,431 red light tickets had been issued.
 

The vendor operating the program has been paid $1,344,193 as of mid-June, 2010.
The city has collected $2,366,004 as of mid-June, 2010.
 

Accidents:
The data that was requested included the number of accidents that occurred at each intersection during the period one year prior to the installation of the red light and the data for one year after the installation of the red light cameras.
 

Accidents actually increased at 3 of the 4 intersections, after the installation of the red light cameras. Overall total accident numbers combined at the four intersections remained nearly identical in the comparison (168 vs 169)
Accident detail can be viewed at:

AccidentAnalysisNov2010.pdf http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/AccidentAnalysisForNov2010.pdf

A few of the new contract features include:
Be capable of providing live stream imaging at each location to integrate a license plate recognition system.
The System shall also be capable of continuous 24-7 hour video recording and monitoring for use by the Police Department in reviewing vehicular interaction.
The Consultant shall provide an automated citation processing program including mailing of citations, delinquency notices, printing and mailing costs, and other associated costs and expenses.

All contract detail can be viewed on the original CORA response at:

Response-to-ORR991.pdf http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/Response-to-ORR991.pdf

News articles and research papers in other parts of the country report on lack of impact in reducing accidents, challenging the legality of the RLC programs and question the large amounts of revenue generated with the cameras. In addition, many states and municipalities have banned the cameras. You can read stories about municipalities experience with red light cameras at the following link.
http://www.cragaurora.com/#newspapers

 When questioned about the potential to use the new generation of high tech cameras for other purposes, such as issuing speeding tickets or dispatching on outstanding warrants, the City of Aurora responded that these were not in the purview of CORA and that "there are no further documents responsive to your requests."

Since the total combined number of accidents has remained almost identical at the combined RLC intersections, it appears the city's main objective is to generate an ongoing, increased revenue stream for the city budget. The "collection machine," that will be in place with the new contract, should ensure the city with a bounty of fines from it residents.

With other cities removing their RLC's, Aurora ought to discontinue this program and this ongoing process of trying to extract more money from its voters.

For more information you can contact a CRAG member at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You can also visit our web site at:

CRAGAurora.com http://www.cragaurora.com/

Complete index of the resourses used:

red-light-camera-links.html

http://www.cragaurora.com/RedLightCamera/red-light-camera-links.html

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