MO - St. Charles considers red light cameras

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St. Charles considers red light cameras
By Shane Anthony
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/18/2006

St. Charles may join the ranks of others using cameras to catch red light runners.

The City Council heard presentations from American Traffic Solutions and Redflex Traffic Systems last week. Both companies have submitted proposals that would not cost the city any money up front for installing the equipment. Police Chief Tim Swope said he thought the proposals were nearly the same.

"I'm to the point of flipping a coin," he said.

Councilman Larry Muench, 2nd Ward, said he would like to have a side-by-side comparison of the two companies' equipment at an intersection in St. Charles to help make the decision. "I'd like to see them on the same intersection at the same time back-to-back to see what they look like," he said.


Red light cameras have drawn interest throughout the St. Louis area as more cities add them or consider adding them. Arnold started using them in October last year. Florissant

began using them earlier this year. St. Peters, which hired Redflex, has been using the cameras for about a month with drivers receiving only warnings. Tickets are expected to be issued soon.

Not all St. Charles City Council members support the idea. Councilman Mark Brown, 2nd Ward, said he thinks the cameras are a bad idea and serve only as a money maker. Eventually, he said, the cameras will wind up on every corner to generate more money.

"I think it's unfortunate we're heading in this direction," he said.

Rory Riddler, 1st Ward, said the cameras offer a more effective way of policing intersections than just having an officer parked nearby. The cameras offer multiple angles, he said, and evidence that can be reviewed. He also questioned the "Big Brother" complaints some in the community may have about the systems.

"These are public intersections where people would have no problems with a police officer sitting at the intersection," he said.

Red light cameras have sparked debate about their effectiveness and the reasons cities are interested in them. Even experts don't agree with one another. Some say the cameras reduce crashes at dangerous intersections, but others contend the cameras have little or no effect on crashes or can even increase rear-end accidents as motorists try to avoid receiving a ticket.

Also, some have questioned enforcement of the tickets, even though some cameras now are designed to take a picture of the motorist who drives through the red light.

In St. Charles, ATS has proposed three payment options. One would be a flat fee of $5,495 per month. A second would send the full amount of the fine to the company for each day's first three violations, with the company collecting $20 from the day's additional tickets. In the third option, the company would collect $48.50 each for the first 90 tickets, $38.50 from the next 90 and $28.50 from additional tickets. The last two options are based on a total fine of $74.50.

Redflex offered the same prices as the tiered proposal from ATS.

St. Charles council members asked Swope where he thought cameras might be used in St. Charles. Swope said intersections along Highway 94 present problems, as do those on Zumbehl Road.

Council members asked Swope to prepare information on the most dangerous intersections and a breakdown of the types of crashes and injuries.

santhony@post-dispatch.com

636-255-7209
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St. Charles identifies dangerous intersections for potential red-light cameras
By Mark Schlinkmann
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/05/2007

ST. CHARLES — The Interstate 70 interchange at Zumbehl Road is a likely spot for a red light traffic camera if St. Charles joins the list of communities using the systems.

The area around the Zumbehl entrance and exit ramps had the most crashes in the city involving red light violations — 62 — between 2002 and Oct. 31 of last year, according to police.

In second place, with 44, was the intersection of First Capitol Drive and Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Also in the top five were the intersections of Zumbehl and Veterans Memorial; First Capitol and Zumbehl and Friedens Road; and West Clay Street and Truman Boulevard and Cave Springs Road.


Police Chief Tim Swope emphasized Thursday that no decisions or recommendations have been made on where cameras should be located. However, he said the Zumbehl-70 area is "a very good bet" for eventual inclusion because of its prominence in the statistics. So are spots along First Capitol west of 70, he said.

The ranking was according to the number of crashes in which at least one driver was cited for a red light violation, Swope said. He said they include accidents handled both by city police and the Missouri Highway Patrol.

He said data for November and December were still being checked. He added that because of reporting lags, a few accidents before Oct. 31 also may have not been included.

The City Council, which has been considering installing cameras to catch red light runners, received Swope's report Tuesday night. Further discussion is expected at the council's work session next week.

Swope suggested having city officials work jointly with the company selected to install the system to determine the locations. He said such firms typically do test readings at various high traffic spots.

He said it's possible that the test cameras would find some high-violation intersections that didn't finish in the "top 10 crash" list.

In November, St. Peters became the first city in St. Charles County to begin using red light cameras. So far, they're operating at three locations — eastbound Mexico Road at Cave Springs; westbound Mexico at Jungermann Road; and southbound Mid Rivers Mall Drive at Suemandy Drive.

Cameras will begin operating at two more sites by March 1 — at Highway 94 and Central School Road and at Highway 94 and Jungermann.

St. Peters' system is operated by Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems. Redflex also sought the St. Charles contract, but Swope last month recommended that it go to a rival firm — American Traffic Solutions, also of Arizona.

The council since then has centered its discussions on American but has yet to make a final decision on whether to install cameras.

Among other issues is how many cameras to install, where to put them and how to spend the revenue raised through fines paid by violators. One proposal is to earmark half the money to help pay for an expansion of a utility tax rebate program for residents 62 and older.

Red light cameras have sparked debate about their effectiveness and whether cities use them mainly to make money. Swope says his goal is to improve safety.