Lombard to get rid of its lone red-light camera

Lombard, the town that houses the headquarters of the area's predominant red-light camera company, will soon be without any red light cameras itself.

The village board is scheduled today to terminate its contract with RedSpeed, which operates cameras at North Avenue and Route 53.

"I never have been and never will be a big fan of red light cameras because I don't see their point," said Trustee Bill Ware.

Lombard officials will notify RedSpeed Friday of the decision, said Village Manager David Hulseberg. The company will then have 60 days to remove the cameras and underground sensors that determine whether drivers stop before the white line.

The sensors at the intersection already have not been working for about a month because of road work by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Hulseberg said.

A representative of RedSpeed did not return calls for comment Wednesday.

Lombard officials have long said they intended to use red light cameras as a safety tool.

"We want to change driving habits," Lombard Police Chief Ray Byrne told the Daily Herald in March 2008. "I want to cut down on accidents. This is not intended as a revenue generator."

However, the cameras have not brought in significant revenue for the village, Ware said.

"We're not making any money off it because our village is different ... our police department has a different thought process," Ware said.

Lombard police give tickets only for right turns on red when drivers blatantly fail to stop or yield, said Deputy Police Chief Dane Cuny.

"Our position is that we don't want our officers clicking on a violation that they wouldn't stand at a vehicle and give a citation," Cuny said. "We're looking at traffic safety and it's not done for revenue purposes."

Safety improvements from the cameras are difficult to measure, Cuny said. After cameras were installed in May 2009, accidents at North Avenue and Route 53 decreased 31 percent during a ten-month period compared to a ten-month period before the cameras were in place, Cuny said. But accidents increased at the intersection of Finley Road and Roosevelt Road, where cameras were installed in February 2009 but later taken down.

"I personally felt it was more of a danger than a safety plus," said Trustee Keith Giagnorio. "I think we're better off without them."