Red-light cameras won't be welcomed in Barrington

Barrington officials have declared they won't be jumping on the red-light camera bandwagon, unlike their near neighbors Fox River Grove and Deer Park.

Village board members told residents of their view last week during a town-hall meeting. They said they took to heart the lessons learned in Schaumburg a year ago where one such camera generated about $1 million in fines in a matter of weeks before being abandoned.

Schaumburg came to recognize the cameras as a taint in the eyes of visitors and shoppers who regularly patronized the village's businesses, Barrington officials said.

Schaumburg officials themselves had said at the time that the cameras didn't significantly improve public safety. Many of those who were ticketed received their citations for not stopping fully before making a right turn on red.

Despite Schaumburg's experience, red-light cameras are proliferating in the suburbs, particularly as many communities seek new revenue streams. The cameras serve as something like virtual police officers, taking images of motorists who disobey traffic laws and then sending the drivers tickets in the mail.

But as Barrington leaders are hard at work trying to revitalize their own downtown business district and make it more attractive to potential stores, restaurants and visitors, they said red-light cameras do not have a place in their vision for that future.