Council weighs merits of red-light cameras
Graphic videos of red light-runners striking pedestrians and causing fiery crashes made some Common Council members cringe today.
They reviewed footage that was shot in cities that already installed red-light cameras as tools for prodding motorists to obey traffic signals.
Although the Council sought and received state permission to install surveillance devices at 50 of Buffalo's most accident-prone intersections, city officials have yet to pass legislation that would launch the program.
Nor has Mayor Byron W. Brown's administration sent requests for proposals from companies that operate video-enforcement programs.
The Council's Police Oversight Committee met today with Redflex Traffic Systems, an Arizona company that operates red-light cameras for municipalities around the nation. Company officials said Redflex was recently selected to implement a program in Rochester.
Bad driving behavior sometimes be cut in half within months after cameras are installed, Redflex officials told lawmakers.
In some communities, crashes caused by red-light runners have plummeted by 80 percent since the devices went up, officials said.
But South Council Member Michael P. Kearns said he remains "a little suspicious" and "nervous" about the prospects of installing red-light cameras. He said he doesn't buy arguments that improving public safety is the program's primary goal.
"This is basically a money grab and an invasion of privacy," said Kearns, adding that he will oppose final legislation that authorizes the devices.
The Brown administration has projected that the program would raise $2.75 million annually. Fines would start at $50 but could increase to $75 if they're paid late. Depending on the deal that is hatched, companies like Redflex typically share fine revenues in return for absorbing all or most of the program costs. The Police Department would still be involved in monitoring video and making final decisions about whether motorists would receive citations.
Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson, who attended today's meeting in City Hall, said he's convinced the cameras will reduce the number of accidents at some busy intersections. He said once motorists go through a "learning curve," fine revenues will likely drop after two or three years.
"You can't set an expectation that this is a cash cow," he said.
University Council Member Bonnie E. Russell said she views red-light cameras as a way to crack down on irresponsible drivers in a city that doesn't have enough police officers. Russell said she's sick of seeing motorists driving recklessly on city streets, then slow down as they cross the Kenmore or Amherst borders.
"That's an insult to me as a lawmaker," she said.
Kearns voiced fears that some people who frequent the Chippewa entertainment district, Allentown or other popular city commercial strips might stay out of Buffalo if the surveillance devices are installed.
"Are we going to be driving away people who are coming into the city?" Kearns asked. "Is it going to hurt local business?"
Ellicott Council Member Brian C. Davis, who presided over today's meeting, said if the cameras deter reckless drivers from coming into Buffalo, that wouldn't be a bad thing.
Brown administration officials have yet to explain what has delayed plans to send to requests for proposals to interested firms. Several months ago, the administration expressed a desire to issue the proposals in June, but that never happened.
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