Naperville to shut down red-light cameras

Motorists in Naperville will face a little less scrutiny beginning Tuesday as the city officially pulls the plug on its three red-light cameras.

The cameras have been operating for three years at the intersections of Route 59 and North Aurora Road, Route 59 and Diehl Road, and Ogden and Aurora avenues.

But in November, city officials chose not to proceed with the optional fourth year of the contract, at least in part because cameras at two of the three intersections must be deactivated for planned road construction.

The Route 59 cameras physically will be removed once construction begins on that roadway between Aurora Avenue and Ferry Road.

City staff members agreed in November the two violations per day at the remaining location at Ogden and Aurora avenues did not warrant keeping the system active. And no other city intersections have high enough crash numbers to warrant placing the cameras elsewhere.

In addition, the city also is taking the action because of an Illinois Department of Transportation policy that requires the evaluation of at least three years of post-construction crash data before considering the re-installation of red-light cameras.

City Manager Doug Krieger said in November he believes the widening and improvements on Route 59 will eliminate the need for photo enforcement along that stretch. But, he added, police now must watch a bit more carefully for speeding.

The loss of the red-light cameras adds a projected $186,000 to the city's budget gap in fiscal 2013.