Naperville OKs red light cameras
Motorists driving in Naperville at the start of the New Year should resolve not to run red lights.
That's when the city expects to have at least one city intersection under surveillance for traffic light scofflaws.
Tuesday, the city council approved a $1 million three-year contract with Maryland-based Traffipax to install eight cameras at four intersections in Naperville to catch motorists who run red lights.
The contract was narrowly approved by a 4-3 vote, but dissenting councilmen weren't opposed to the technology.
Instead, they wanted cameras placed at more crash-prone intersections or wanted to hear more about newer equipment that could help prevent crashes as well as take pictures of violators.
Resident Charles Schneider, who works for a consulting firm specializing in municipal technology, said the equipment the city was purchasing would do little to prevent crashes, which is the basis for the expenditure.
"The proposed system as it sits is a deterrent, not a preventative measure," he said. "Once a person blows that light, there's nothing within the technology the city is buying that's going to prevent a collision."
He said newer technology senses those dangers and halts intersecting traffic. But some councilmen were concerned about the city getting involved with untested technology.
"I don't ever think a government should be on the leading edge of technology," Councilman Grant Wehrli said. "If something better comes along, we can implement it later."
The city's plan is to install the cameras at two city-controlled intersections first to work out any kinks before installing them at more crash-prone intersections controlled by the state or counties. But some councilmen want to see the cameras placed at more dangerous intersections first.
"I don't think the motoring public is going to agree that you're trying to save people when you're not going to where the accidents are," Councilman Richard Furstenau said. "I'm not going to vote yes on any of this unless we go to the corners where safety is the issue."
Staff recommended the city-controlled intersections be tested first because of the bureaucratic hoops that would have to be jumped through to get the technology in place initially on state and county roads.
The initial intersections the city could place the cameras are 95th Street and Book Road, Bailey Avenue and Washington Street, Chicago Avenue and Washington Street or Aurora Avenue and Fort Hill Drive. Those intersections had between 69 and 114 crashes between 2003 and 2005.
Comparatively, the four most crash-prone state-controlled intersections during that same period totaled between 186 and 321 collisions, which resulted in 132 more injuries.
City staff said the cameras at municipally controlled intersections could be moved to more crash-prone intersections during the contract period, which is not unprecedented.
In fact, some cities in Virginia utilizing this technology only have a few cameras, but move them around town to maximize enforcement. Warning signage at the unmonitored intersections are left in place to dissuade motorists from running the red lights.