Carol Stream joins growing list of towns with red light cameras

Motorists driving on major roadways in Carol Stream will soon be dealing with more than police squad cars waiting for them to make a wrong move.

Village trustees on Tuesday unanimously passed a local ordinance establishing a red light photo enforcement system. The local law paves the way for the village to begin installing cameras at several intersections, including at least four potential sites along North Avenue.

In December, the village board approved a plan to contract with Redflex Traffic Systems of Scottsdale, Ariz., to install cameras at several intersections with heavy traffic, including at least four potential sites along North Avenue.

Which intersections will ultimately receive the photo enforcement cameras has still yet to be determined. Carol Stream officials are awaiting the results of studies on two locations, which should be completed by the end of the month.

Police Chief Rick Willing had said the new cameras would likely be installed at intersections with the highest annual accident rates.

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

The village also would 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.

Trustees disputed claims the camera systems will be used as a revenue generator for the village. Chicago, for instance, netted $20 million in 2006 for red-light violations caught by cameras.

Carol Stream isn't the first DuPage County community to consider installing scofflaw cameras along its intersections.

In September, Naperville approved a three-year, $1 million plan to install eight cameras at four intersections in town. That same month, Lisle officials approved a similar plan to install cameras at up to five different intersections.