Cameras to nab red-light runners

[MCA™]

State DOT puts the brakes on installation of additional red-light cameras
By Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger
on April 19, 2013 at 6:20 AM, updated April 19, 2013 at 7:38 AM

NEWARK — The state is putting a stop to any new red-light cameras.

Citing a lack of time to evaluate the automated stop-light enforcement technology, the New Jersey Department of Transportation said Thursday no new locations would be added to the list of 76 intersections in the 25 communities where the cameras have already been installed.

A state pilot project allowing municipalities to seek DOT approval to install the controversial cameras is due to expire in December 2014. But, the DOT said in its announcement, it takes two years worth of data collected at intersections where the cameras have been installed to reliably assess their effectiveness - more time than is left before the pilot project expires.

"The gold standard of engineering for analyzing data is three years of uninterrupted data, so if there's approximately 20 months left until the end of the pilot ... why would we activate new cameras?" said DOT Assistant Commissioner Anthony Attanasio.

The data so far has been mixed. Accidents are actually up slightly at the 24 intersections around the state where cameras have been in place for a year, but down substantially at the two intersections where they were installed two years earlier.

The cameras have generated controversy since legislators approved the five-year pilot project in December 2009. Defenders say they police dangerous intersections without the cost of stationing an officer there in a patrol car.

But the cameras have infuriated drivers hit with $85 fines, weeks after the alleged fact, based on photographs taken by a machine and not the eyewitness account of a police officer.

The process is not entirely automated. Before a summons is issued, the photographs are reviewed by a person who determines whether a violation occurred. Unlike traffic tickets issued directly to drivers by a police officer, the camera summonses, which are sent by mail to the vehicle's registered owner, do not add points to the registrant’s license.

Like the installation of traffic lights, the cameras are approved and installed by the DOT at the request of municipalities. There are 76 intersections with cameras in 25 municipalities.

At the end of the pilot project, the DOT will make a recommendation on the cameras based on at least two years worth of data at all of the intersections.

Thursday's announcement was welcomed by critics of the technology.

“I’ll take Governor Christie’s decision as further evidence that New Jersey’s red light camera pilot program is a failure,” state Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren), said in a statement. “Studies have indicated, and local officials have acknowledged, that the use of red light cameras does not improve safety.”

Doherty was citing a report issued in November by the DOT under an annual requirement of the pilot program. According to the report, the total number of accidents at 24 intersections where the cameras had been in place for one year, had increased by 0.9 percent (from 577 to 582) from the year before they were installed. The number of rear-end collisions at those intersections rose 20 percent - from 286 to 343 - while the total cost of damage resulting from all accidents rose by $1.2 million, according to the report.

But the report also found that at the two intersections in Newark where cameras had been in place for two years, the total number of crashes fell by 57 percent, from 47 to 20, when comparing the second year of installation to the first. Total estimated costs of the crashes also fell, by $268,900, the report found.

In Newark, 19 intersections are equipped with red-light cameras. Mayor Cory Booker strongly backs the effort while others in the city have tried - literally - to shoot them down, riddling two cameras with bullets on the same day last August.

In a lawsuit underscoring some drivers' hostility toward the technology, one of two companies that installs the cameras in New Jersey, American Traffic Solutions, said last month that it would set up a $4.2 million fund to pay plaintiffs in a suit alleging the lights were rigged to change from yellow to red too quickly for motorists to stop.

A DOT spokesman, Joe Dee, said the decision not to install any new cameras had nothing to do with the backlash. Rather, he said, the decision was based strictly on the lack of time to collect reliable data before the pilot program expires.

“It makes sense just to cut it off," Dee said. "Why have a camera there if it’s not going to give us useful data.”

[MCA™]

Political Insider: How much do traffic light cameras pull in? Enough for 24/7 patrols
By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
on December 22, 2012 at 6:30 AM, updated December 22, 2012 at 6:32 AM

Hudson County Freeholder Bill O'Dea of Jersey City has apparently found a way to make the most of those red light traffic cameras that are popping up in the city by demanding that the Hudson County Sheriff's Office change its table of organization to dedicate a 24/7 patrol on the perimeter of Lincoln County Park.

The millions of dollars in fines reaped by a trio of cameras is expected to fund the vigilance. At this week's freeholder sessions, O'Dea said he noticed that three of the traffic cameras are on Kennedy Boulevard, a county roadway, and are at intersections within eight blocks of each other near the county park. The lenses are focused on the -intersections with Montgomery Street and Duncan and Communipaw avenues.

O'Dea said that with the amount of money made by the county's share from summonses issued thanks to the cameras, he saw no reason why there shouldn't be a permanent anti-crime patrol in the areas along West Side and Duncan avenues, Route 440, and Communipaw Avenue.

Other than noting that it would require extra manpower, Sheriff Frank Schillari said he was willing to change the table of operations to provide the service. It was estimated the cost to the county would be between $250,000 and $300,000 annually.

At the freeholder's request, the county administration provided numbers for the three cameras over the first 11 months of this year.

There were 55,244 tickets paid by those who received summonses over 11 months, providing about $4.8 million in revenue. The city received $2.7 million from this pool of money. The county collected $1.5 million and the state kept $635,000.

The funny thing is that they did not even include the red light camera on Routes 440/1&9 and Communipaw Avenue.

[CeeDub]

Accident rate rises at intersections with red-light cameras, N.J. study shows
Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger
November 27, 2012 at 9:25 AM, updated at 9:56 AM

A New Jersey Department of Transportation analysis of two dozen intersections that have had the automated traffic cops for at least a year found that accidents — particularly rear-end crashes — have increased, and the collisions are more costly.

Rear-end collisions at the intersections were up by 20 percent, from 286 the year before the cameras were installed to 343 the year after, according to the report made public yesterday. Overall, accidents increased from 577 crashes the year before the cameras were installed to 582 the year after. The "crash severity cost" — which takes into account vehicle and property damage, emergency response and medical care — increased by nearly $1.2 million after the cameras were installed.

Folow the hyperlink title for the whole article

 

[Frank M]

How long before some well-lobbied legislator outlaws this perfect defense against cameras?

Awesome!  The same idea occurred to me from working with slave flashes in photography.  Unfortunately, there’s a serious problem: What happens to the driver behind you after he gets strobed in the face, particularly at night?  That would piss me off more than the stupid red-light camera.

[CeeDub]

How long before some well-lobbied legislator outlaws this perfect defense against cameras?

[fasteddie]

Shoot out the red lights: 2 traffic cameras struck with bullets in Newark
Published: Friday, August 10, 2012, 9:21 PM   

By Tomás Dinges and Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger

NEWARK — Someone with a gun is apparently settling scores with those red-light traffic cameras so reviled by New Jersey motorists.

Two of the devices were shot in Newark today, police said.

Red-light cameras at the intersections of Broad and Murray streets and Broad Street and Raymond Boulevard were given the same treatment as that ill-fated hotel room TV that enraged Elvis.

"The Newark Police Department is in the early stages of their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the damaging of two of the city’s red-light photo cameras," Detective Todd McClendon, a police spokesman, said. "The cameras were struck by apparent gunfire during the early morning hours."

The cameras were disabled after the shootings, but were being repaired today, he said. There were no injuries and police had not identified a suspect. The cameras were expected to be up and running again shortly.

Newark is home to 19 of the 85 red-light cameras in New Jersey.

They are polarizing devices. Motorists and some politicians consider them Big Brother contraptions that are little more than a money grab by municipalities. Mayors and some police officers tout them as devices that reduce accidents while bringing much needed revenue to towns.

On June 19, the state announced it was suspending 63 of the cameras — including all 19 in Newark — over concerns amber lights did not give motorists enough time to get through intersections. The suspension was lifted July 25 after the state said all cameras were found to meet standards.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) wants to ban the red-light cameras, but didn’t condone treating them like target practice.

"People feeling that frustrated about these automated tax machines — just wait a little while," he said. "The truth will win out in the end, and we’ll get rid of them."

Mohamed Diallo, a sunglasses and purse vendor at the corner of Broad and Raymond, is used to seeing work crews perform maintenance on the red-light camera. But he has never seen the crews phone police to remove something from the camera case and put it in a plastic evidence bag.

Three large bullet holes pierced the side of the black box housing the camera that pointed south on Broad.

Diallo said he didn’t notice anything wrong until a fleet of police cars arrived about 5 p.m. today.

"Somebody," he said, "was really angry at the camera."

[MCA™]

Candid camera
Do red light cameras really improve traffic safety?
by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer
Jul 08, 2012

Do those notorious red light cameras around Jersey City and other cities really lower car crashes – or lead to more accidents than standard traffic signals? That is a question that’s being hotly debated by motorists who have been ticketed after allegedly being caught on camera running red lights.

A recent decision by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to suspend the issuance of tickets at 63 intersections in the state outfitted with red light cameras initially led to relief among drivers who have been fined after being caught running lights. The suspension of the program was particularly felt in Newark, where all of that city’s red light cameras will stop issuing tickets until the system can be recalibrated and improved.

But the suspension of the red light camera program provides little amnesty to Jersey City drivers. Of the 13 red light cameras that have been in operation in Jersey City, only one – at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue – has been suspended. The remaining 12 cameras in Jersey City remain in full effect and drivers who run red lights at these intersections will still receive tickets and fines.

Read more

[MCA™]

Jersey City to activate red-light cameras at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9
Published: Tuesday, July 03, 2012, 4:30 PM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Despite state officials suspending most of New Jersey’s red-light cameras, Jersey City is forging ahead with the controversial program by adding cameras to a ninth city intersection, at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9.

The city, which started implementing the program last year, plans to install the cameras at more than three dozen locations citywide. The latest set of cameras will catch motorists speeding through the red lights at the foot of Newark Avenue, by the Wittpenn Bridge.

Cameras installed last March at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue were suspended on June 19, along with more than 60 statewide, after the state determined the yellow lights at the intersections may not be timed correctly.

Cameras installed at the other seven Jersey City intersections were permitted to continue operating.

The Jersey Journal asked the city whether it should halt any implementation of additional red-light cameras until the state concludes its investigation of the program.

"The study being conducted by the state involves certain cameras and the timing of the yellow signal,” said city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill. “The only that has been temporarily suspended pending the review was the red light camera at Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard, and ultimately the state authorizes the activation of all new cameras.”

City officials stress that increasing public safety is the top priority for the red-light camera program, though they concede the cameras may be responsible for as much as $3 million in revenue this year.

A 30-day warning period for the red-light cameras at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9  begins on Thursday. Motorists will be cited $85 for running a red light there starting August 5.

[Rabelais]

Jersey City police chief says 'suspended' red-light camera still writes tickets, don't throw them out

Motorists who have recently received citations because of the red-light cameras at Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City should treat the summonses as they would normally, despite the state suspending the program at most red-light camera locations, police said yesterday, The Jersey Journal reports.

The state slammed the brakes on the program Tuesday because of concerns that the yellow lights at many of the statewide locations are not timed properly. Of Jersey City’s roughly dozen intersections with red-light cameras, only the cameras at Communipaw and Kennedy were suspended.

Full story here.

[CeeDub]

ORLY?

[MCA™]

N.J. slams the brakes on controversial red light cameras
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 3:53 PM
Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 4:48 PM
Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger

New Jersey is suspending its controversial red light camera program to further study whether the cameras, which have frustrated motorists while generating millions of dollars for towns, meet standards for the timing of yellow lights.

Officials with the state Department of Transportation said today that 63 of the 85 red light cameras in the state — including all 19 in Newark — have not been tested to ensure yellow lights were timed in full accordance with state standards. Tickets will not be issued at those 63 locations until it is determined whether the cameras are in compliance with the law. The other 22 cameras are in compliance.

The yellow lights are expected to stay lit one second for every 10 mph — 3.5 seconds in the case of an intersection where the speed limit is 35 mph.

In addition, the standards call for towns to study the speed at which vehicles approach the intersection before determining how long the yellow lights stay lit, taking into account the speed at which 85 percent of the drivers travel through the intersection. For 63 of the 85 cameras in 21 towns, those speeds had not been determined before the towns received approval to install the red light cameras.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon Jr. (R-Monmouth) said motorists have been caught in the red lights and fined because the yellow lights may have been incorrectly timed.

"It’s a good victory for the motorists of New Jersey," he said.

The towns where the red light cameras will remain in limbo are Newark, Linden, Wayne, Palisades Park, Union Township, Springfield, Roselle Park, Rahway, Englewood Cliffs, Pohatcong, Piscataway, Edison, East Windsor, Lawrence, Cherry Hill, Stratford, Monroe, Brick and Glassboro, Jersey City (one camera of 13) and Woodbridge (one camera of four).

[MCA™]

Jersey City has state approval to install red-light cameras at two more intersections
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 7:32 AM
Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 7:33 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

State officials have given the OK for Jersey City to install two more sets of red-light cameras, at Routes 1&9 and Manhattan Avenue and at 14th Street and Jersey Avenue.

The city has 24 cameras at eight intersections already, and plans to install 14 more cameras at six additional junctures.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill told The Jersey Journal last month the city expects to net $1 million this year from the cameras, far short of the $7 million the city initially hoped to receive.

City officials have stressed that the primary goal of red-light cameras is to reduce motor-vehicle accidents, not increase revenue for the city.

The red-light cameras at the two newest intersections have not yet been activated. City officials give motorists 30 days from activation of the cameras before they start issuing tickets.

A sign warning of a red-light camera has been installed at the foot of Newark Avenue where it intersects with Routes 1&9, but that camera has not been activated yet either.

[CeeDub]

It's spelled HORSESHIT and there are plenty of studies showing that there is no reduction of injuries/accidents.

This was a racket from day one and in typical Hudson COunty fashion, we will be stuck with it long after forwardthinking communities have dismantled their systems in favour of real measures, some as simple as lengthening the yellow light period.

Render unto Caesar Healy/Krispie . . .

[nugnfutz]

We're getting some stats on revenue. Is the City tracking and publishing stats on reduced collisions? Or is that just horses**t?

[MCA™]

Drivers running red lights at Kennedy and Communipaw intersection paid $1.7 million in traffic fines, records show
Published: Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 3:03 AM
Updated: Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 6:41 AM
Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

Drivers caught on camera running red lights at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City over the past year were issued 20,000 traffic tickets and shelled out $1.7 million in fines, county records show.

After paying fees to the state and to the private company that monitors the cameras at the profitable intersection, the City of Jersey City pocketed $658,765 while the county collected $354,553, the records show.

The records reveal fines issued May 2011 to April 2012.

“The primary purpose of the cameras is to slow up traffic and to ensure that drivers abide by traffic signals enhancing the safety of the driving public,” Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said in a statement.

“A secondary and incidental benefit of the red-light cameras is certainly the funds they generate for the municipalities in which they are placed, many of which have seen drastic budget cuts and reduced revenues.”

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said that based on $979,348 collected so far this year from cameras installed at eight intersections in Jersey City under a state Department of Transportation pilot program, the city expects to collect $3 million in fines this year, of which the city will net roughly $1 million.

A small share of every ticket goes to the state and to pay American Traffic Solutions for monitoring the cameras, Morrill said, noting the city plans to install red-light cameras at six more intersections.

Gary Biller, president of National Motorists Association, an advocacy group for motorists, believes the decision by municipalities to install red-light cameras is driven by the devices’ lucrative payoff.

“The fact that one camera made $1.7 million over one year and the city is adding more cameras shows that it is clearly about increasing revenue,” Biller said. “If the aim is to improve traffic safety there is no need for the cameras.”

Biller argues that other measures, such as increasing the amount of time a light remains yellow and improving the visibility of the lights have proven “time and time again” to reduce traffic-ticket violations and make instersections safer.

Hudson County and the City of Jersey City share the income generated by red-light cameras installed at four intersections along Kennedy Boulevard, which is a county road.

“The ones (red-light cameras that) I know that have been installed enhance safety in area as well as generate revenue,” said Hudson County Freeholder Bill O’Dea.

CAM LOCATIONS
Jersey City has 24 red-light cameras at these eight intersections. Another 14 cameras are slated to be installed at six more intersections in Jersey City soon, but officials have not said where.

• Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue
• Kennedy Boulevard and Route 139/Hoboken Avenue
• Jersey Avenue and 18th Street
• Montgomery and Merseles streets
• Newark and Tonnelle avenues
• Sip Avenue and Routes 1 & 9/440
• Duncan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard
• Montgomery Street and Kennedy Boulevard

[CeeDub]

From user janboll43_1 on NJ.Com

I won my Red Light Camera (RLC) case 3/23/2012 with Edison Township. My ticket was dismissed. Please read this as I believe that all of the Red Light Cameras are not complying with the law which means your tickets should be dismissed. Edison is not following the RLC law as it is written. They did not do the 85th percentile study that was needed to be done on Rt. 1 at Plainfield Ave. Which means the timing of the yellow portion of the light is not long enough by at least one second. They also did not have the inspections and certifications they needed for the camera system and equipment from REDFLEX until I requested them in my OPRA request. The REDFLEX records keeper not the inspector of the RLC system certified each months inspections dated 7/2011 to 2/2012 on the same day 3/21/2012 that he saw them. Then the Edison townships engineer certified the email when he received it. The certifications were sent by email to the town engineer from REDFLEX Traffic Systems in Arizona. Who actual saw what the inspections said? Not the town engineer who certified them. I have copies of all the certifications and a copy of Edison's application to the state to be in the Red Light Camera program. People who receive a ticket should plead not guilty and ask for the information I mentioned through the town clerk in an OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request. She will help you with the OPRA papers. Or look it up online on the Edison website or the town's website you received your ticket. Edison knows that they are issuing tickets and not following the law themselves. ( Officer --------- said he is still going to give out the tickets. It is up to the town to fix things he said.) Most likely all New Jersey Red Light Running cameras are not complying with the law. For more info on the law do a search online for NJDOT Red Light Running Automated Enforcement and Assembly Bill 4314.
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/rlr/

This is the part they are not complying to - Signal Timing Certification (The paragraph below is the important information to ask the town for.)
*A certification by the municipal engineer that (a) the intersection or intersections in question have a minimum duration of the amber light at the traffic control signal of 3 seconds if at least 85% of the vehicular traffic approaching the signal is traveling at a speed of 25 mph or less; and (b) for each five mile increase in the speed of vehicular traffic referred to in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph above 30 mph this minimum duration of the amber light shall be increased by ½ second. * This part of the law is most likely NOT being complied with by any town in the RED LIGHT CAMERA program throughout the state of New Jersey. You can also ask for the same information from the NJDOT.
Some towns may not be doing the following either, Edison Township was not - the law states - e. A traffic control signal monitoring system shall be inspected and certified at least once every six months by the municipal engineer from the date of its installation for the duration of the five-year pilot program.

In this case it seems it is not about safety or the study would have been done to increase the timing of the amber light and the camera system would be inspected and records would be on file at the township engineers office.
It is about the money.

As I said before from what I have learned, I believe almost ALL if not ALL of the Red Light Cameras throughout New Jersey are not following the Law as it is written. If you do not plead not guilty and contest your ticket this problem will never go away.

[MCA™]

Westbound lanes of Communipaw Avenue at Routes 1-9/440 are latest to get red-light cameras in Jersey City
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 3:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

New red-light cameras have been installed at the intersection of Routes 1&9/440 and Communipaw Avenue, with the newest cameras aimed at westbound traffic.

The city installed the cameras at the southbound and eastbound lanes of the intersection earlier this month, part of a citywide initiative to install the cameras at 11 of the city’s most dangerous intersections.

The new cameras will begin a 30-day trial phase just after midnight on Wednesday. Motorists who blow through a red light there, or turn right on red without stopping, will receive $85 tickets starting May 25.

The city has stressed that the initiative is an effort to increase safety, though it has conceded it hopes to bring in $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed.

[jcgov]

Another Red Light Camera Now Active @ JFK & Hoboken Ave./Rte 139 - Ticketing & Fines Begin 5/13/12

Police Department officials announced today that an additional red light camera began its trial phase at 12:01 a.m. (midnight) on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Route 139/Hoboken Avenue. The camera, which is part of a New Jersey Department of Transportation program, will take video and photos of red-light violators.

The trial phase or “warning period” will last until 12:01 a.m. on May 13, 2012 during which violators will receive a written warning in the mail. After that, motorists cited for running the red light will receive an $85 citation.

To See Where Other Red Light Cameras Are Located Around The City, Visit Our Travel & Traffic Advisories Page Here.

[Bobblehead]

Mrs. Bobble got caught going through a yellow red light at 5:00 a.m. Car is in my name, so ticket was mailed to me. Imagine her surprise when I called her over to the computer and showed her the video of her running the light. . . .

[MCA™]

funikki!

Twice they got me! 

Interesting quote from The Peacock Press, the unofficial newspaper of Saint Peter's College:

Officials say these cameras are to improve safety and generate revenue for the city.  But a police officer we talk to said there has not been a noticeable increase or decrease in motor vehicle accidents since the installation of the cameras.

“ Most of those cameras are put in high traffic areas used to come in and out of the city, so they mostly get people who aren’t from Jersey City and don’t know the cameras are there and MCA, so if they don’t know it’s there, it’s not reducing accidents, but it will increase ticket numbers”, said a Jersey City Police Officer who asked to remain anonymous.

[nikki]

Interesting quote from The Peacock Press, the unofficial newspaper of Saint Peter's College:

Officials say these cameras are to improve safety and generate revenue for the city.  But a police officer we talk to said there has not been a noticeable increase or decrease in motor vehicle accidents since the installation of the cameras.

“ Most of those cameras are put in high traffic areas used to come in and out of the city, so they mostly get people who aren’t from Jersey City and don’t know the cameras are there and MCA, so if they don’t know it’s there, it’s not reducing accidents, but it will increase ticket numbers”, said a Jersey City Police Officer who asked to remain anonymous.

[MCA™]

Interesting quote from The Peacock Press, the unofficial newspaper of Saint Peter's College:

Officials say these cameras are to improve safety and generate revenue for the city.  But a police officer we talk to said there has not been a noticeable increase or decrease in motor vehicle accidents since the installation of the cameras.

“ Most of those cameras are put in high traffic areas used to come in and out of the city, so they mostly get people who aren’t from Jersey City and don’t know the cameras are there, so if they don’t know it’s there, it’s not reducing accidents, but it will increase ticket numbers”, said a Jersey City Police Officer who asked to remain anonymous.

[Woodsy]

Two more red-light cameras in Jersey City bring total to 8
Published: Friday, April 06, 2012, 3:00 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

The city began installing the cameras last year, and plans to install them at 11 intersections. City officials stress the mission of the program is to increase public safety, though they have conceded they hope to net $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed.

claims no new taxes yet the city nets $7 million on red light cameras.  Can we get jay-walking cameras too?  We'd never have another budget problem ever again.[/sarcasm]

[MCA™]

Two more red-light cameras in Jersey City bring total to 8
Published: Friday, April 06, 2012, 3:00 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

New red-light cameras have been installed at two intersections in Jersey City, bringing the number of city intersections with the cameras to eight.

The southbound intersection of Newark and Tonnelle avenues, where the city installed cameras on the northbound side in January, have been outfitted with cameras, as have the south- and eastbound lanes of Communipaw Avenue and Routes 1&9/440.

The cameras begin a 30-day trial period just after midnight today. Starting just after midnight on May 5, motorists who blow through red lights at either intersection will receive an $85 ticket.

The city began installing the cameras last year, and plans to install them at 11 intersections. City officials stress the mission of the program is to increase public safety, though they have conceded they hope to net $7 million annually once all the cameras are installed.

Other intersections with the cameras include Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard and Jersey Avenue and 18th Street. Some intersections, such as Christopher Columbus Drive and Jersey Avenue, have been outfitted with cameras that are not activated yet.

[Woodsy]

Jesus!  Another one‽  Why don't you just put them at every red light‽  Welcome to the nanny state.