“After looking at the data that they gathered during the study, and the information that we had regarding traffic accidents, we didn’t feel that any of the intersections were appropriate for red-light cameras,” Huntington Beach Police Chief Ken Small said.
“A lot of the violations I saw were people who, in my view, I wouldn’t feel comfortable writing a citation for,” Small said. Many were extremely close to the intersection line when they entered the intersection following the yellow light, he said.
Small talked with the city administrator last week, and sent a memo to the City Council recommending not to approve use of the cameras.
Redflex conducted the study at no cost to the city. There was a provision in Redflex’s contract with the city that stipulated that if the city didn’t find any appropriate intersections in which to install cameras, the city could terminate the contract, Small said.
Small added that he wouldn’t rule out installing the cameras in the future if an intersection justified their use, but said he found no example of an intersection in the recent study that warranted use of the cameras.
Using the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Talbert Avenue as an example, he said there were only two red-light-related accidents in 2008, so he found it hard to justify installing cameras that cost $5,800 per month. A typical intersection would have four cameras at its corners.
“I really was concerned that the revenue wouldn’t offset the cost over the course of a five-year contract,” Small said. “We don’t have any extra money right now.”
Opponents of the cameras argue that they do not stop accidents, and only serve to line the coffers of the cities who install them.
“They keep saying it’s all about public safety, but they don’t want to try simple things first,” said City Council candidate Norm Westwell.
