No red light cameras for Mount Prospect

The Mount Prospect village board on Tuesday turned down installing red light cameras in the village at this time.

The board listened to a presentation about the red light cameras designed to catch drivers who run red lights.

Trustees did not see a significant need for such cameras that have become popular in other nearby towns.

Police officials told the board that the number of accidents in the village is considered low with the majority having nothing to do with red light violations.

Also, installing cameras to watch drivers was not a desirable idea in principle among some trustees.

Trustee Paul Hoefert likened the cameras to "Big Brother" with the village overly monitoring its citizenry. "This right off has a bad feeling for me," he said

Police Chief John Dahlberg said the intersection of Algonquin and Busse roads experiences the greatest number of accidents, with 38 in 2006, which is considered a low amount, he said.

Most of the village's accidents have nothing to do with a driver blowing a red light, so the red light cameras would not prevent most of the village's accidents, he said. Most accidents happen when a driver fails to yield to another during a left turn, he said.

Dahlberg suggested the board should watch how other nearby town's red light programs work for them. If, for some reason, residents come forward wishing for the cameras, then the board could always consider it in the future if it wished, he said.

In other towns, red light cameras are installed to catch the license plates of offenders. The driver whose name is registered to the vehicle is be ticketed.

Red light cameras have been approved in other villages, including Palatine, Elk Grove Village, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows and Rosemont.