Red Light Camera News Red-light cameras won't go up in Longwood
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Red-light cameras won't go up in Longwood
Commission votes 3-2 against installation of photo-enforcement devices
By Jon Busdeker, Orlando Sentinel
9:17 p.m. EDT, July 18, 2011
Red-light cameras have been given the red light in Longwood.
City commissioners voted Monday 3-2 against an ordinance to install four red-light cameras. The ordinance would have placed three cameras at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17-92 and State Road 434. A fourth camera would be installed at S.R. 434 and North Ronald Reagan Boulevard.
Elections Mayor Joe Durso, who voted against the ordinance, said there are a number of "legal issues" surrounding red-light cameras. He said the use of red-light cameras have been challenged in several communities statewide, which could create a "legal quagmire" in Longwood.
"It's just not right for us to do at this minute," said Durso.
Durso also cited the cost of operating the red-light cameras and the possibility the cameras will be outlawed during next year's legislative session.
Deputy Mayor Bob Cortes and Commissioner Brian Sackett also voted against the ordinance. Commissioners John Maingot and Butch Bundy voted in favor of it.
"I'm disappointed," Bundy said following the meeting. "We had the opportunity to make the city safer … and we didn't."
A growing number of Central Florida communities operate red-light cameras, including Orlando, Winter Park, Ocoee, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Springs and Orange County. There are roughly 60 cameras in operation throughout the region — most of them in Orange County.
Longwood commissioners approved the installation of the red-light cameras in 2009 but held off putting them up because of statewide debates on their legality. A bill that would have outlawed the devices passed the Florida House by a vote of 59-57 during the 2011 Legislative session but failed to make it through the Senate.
Then, as recently as May, an Orange County judge dismissed a suit claiming that red-light cameras in Metro Orlando and the state are unconstitutional. (Ban the Cams note: RLC installs after 7/1/2010, when Wandall Scamera Act became "legal" for now).
Critics of the cameras say their sole purpose is to collect money for cash-strapped governments. Those in favor of the devices contend cameras save lives and improve safety.
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