COMMENTARY
Bruce Andriatch: Burbs’ risky intersections need cameras
Published: June 23, 2009, 12:30 am
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Red-light running is such a problem in the City of Buffalo that state lawmakers have cleared the way for cameras to be placed at dozens of dangerous intersections.
Supporters of the cameras say that once drivers realize they will be fined $50 each time they blow through a red light, they will slow down, and accidents will inevitably decline, which makes sense.
It would make even more sense if the region’s most dangerous intersections were in Buffalo. But they’re not.
Most people in Erie County live— and therefore drive—in the suburbs. Faster speeds lead to more serious accidents, and speed limits on suburban roads can be as high as 55 mph. City drivers, meanwhile, are supposed to keep the speedometer at 30 or below.
Plus, the suburbs are rife with intersections of two four-lane highways where a speeding vehicle ignoring or trying to beat a red light could—and does—cause chaos. Picture Walden Avenue and Union Road in Cheektowaga. Or Sheridan Drive and Niagara Falls Boulevard on the Tonawanda- Amherst line. Or Transit Road at about five different locations from Clarence to Lancaster.
“We have three or four [intersections] that I can think of where they would be a benefit,” said Town of Tonawanda Assistant Police Chief Jerry Uschold. “I think the cameras couldn’t do anything but help.”
Buffalo might not be getting the cameras were it not for a suburban accident. Joseph Kolkmeyer’s daughter was nearly killed when the car she was driving was T-boned by a car whose driver had run a red light at Sheridan and Mill Street in Amherst. Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, read about Kolkmeyer’s quest to get cameras at intersections in Amherst to prevent accidents like the one involving his daughter.
Hoyt became Kolkmeyer’s champion, pushing legislation in Albany that eventually allowed every large city in New York to have the cameras.
Kolkmeyer died in 2007, two years before his quest became law. He probably would have mixed feelings knowing that some communities will have cameras, but not the town where he almost lost his daughter, nor any other suburb.
Hoyt said the cameras are coming to Buffalo largely because the mayor and the Common Council want them. Before they can come to another community, the local board has to ask for them.
“They can do it, and I would recommend that they do do it,” he said.
Amherst Council Member Guy Marlette said he would like to. One of the first things he proposed after he was sworn in was getting cameras at the town’s most dangerous intersections. The proposal didn’t get anywhere, but Marlette plans to resurrect it after this year’s election.
Marlette and police officials often note that the cameras could serve a dual purpose: decreasing red-light running and providing another crime-solving tool. The cameras could spot suspects before or after crimes are committed.
That shouldn’t be part of the argument; if they can prevent a collision, that should be enough. And if Western New York is going to have the cameras anywhere, they need to be where they can do the most good.
Between Aug. 1 and April 14, at least six people have died as a result of cars’ running red lights in the metropolitan area. One person was killed in Buffalo. The others were killed in the suburbs, one in Amherst, one in the Town of Tonawanda and three in Hamburg.
Tell their grieving family members that red-light running is mostly a city issue.
bandriatch@buffnews.com
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