Carol Stream to join communities with red-light cameras

Carol Stream trustees approved a plan Monday to install three red-light enforcement cameras later this summer along North Avenue.

The three cameras will target motorists traveling east and west along the road at Gary Avenue, and westbound motorists at Kuhn Road.

The village will now have to wait for final permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation to put up the cameras.

In December, the village board approved a plan to contract with Redflex Traffic Systems of Scottsdale, Ariz., to install the red-light enforcement cameras.

Carol Stream officials have said they expect the program would pay for itself through fees collected from traffic tickets issued by the camera systems.

The village also planned to hire an attorney to handle ticket disputes and pay up to $2,000 in monthly overtime costs for officers to monitor the traffic light system, a cost that's also expected to be covered through the tickets.

Carol Stream officials have echoed the arguments of several nearby communities that the camera systems aren't being considered because of their money-making potential.

Catching motorists using the cameras, though, can be profitable for towns considering red-light cameras.

Naperville officials estimated that cameras activated at two intersections last month could add about $2.4 million to the city's coffers. That's based on predictions of issuing 1,000 tickets a month at each intersection. The city will pay a flat fee of $180,000 this year for maintenance of the cameras.

Roughly 30 cameras in Chicago netted $20 million for the city in 2006.

And a single camera in Bellwood resulted in 500 tickets in one month, which resulted in $50,000 worth of ticket fines.

Aurora, Warrenville, Lisle, Roselle and Wood Dale are among the other DuPage County communities with similar plans for red-light enforcement camera systems in the works.