Carol Stream hoping to install red light cams
Carol Stream is considering placing cameras at two intersections along North Avenue to catch motorists who run red lights.
Trustees were briefed Monday night on a proposal to contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company, to install cameras at intersections with heavy traffic.
While the village has yet to identify which intersections would have cameras, officials said they were considering at least two possible intersections: North Avenue and Kuhn Road, as well as North and Gary avenues.
Carol Stream officials say 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.
Village President Frank Saverino claimed improving traffic safety was the primary motivation for considering the program.
"If we put these cameras up, we could be able to focus our officers within the inner part of our village," Saverino said today. "Hopefully, these cameras could slow drivers along North Avenue.
"Our cops can be out there writing tickets for several days in a row and it doesn't seem to help," Saverino added. "People just don't care."
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.
And Wood Dale still is waiting for clearance from the county before mounting cameras at Thorndale Avenue and Wood Dale Road to reduce accidents and red-light violations.
Village board members in Carol Stream are expected to consider a contract proposal for the red-light camera system sometime next month.