Finally, some sense brought to this issue.
Council puts brakes on red-light camera debate
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:49 AM
By NATE ELLIS
ThisWeek Staff Writer
The path to installing red-light cameras at intersections along state Route 256 hit a roadblock Tuesday night after a city official said current measures might improve traffic flow on the thoroughfare.
Pickerington City Council voted unanimously to table legislation to allow Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. to donate and maintain photo red-light enforcement equipment at three intersections along Route 256.
The move came after council voted 5-2 on Jan. 20 to pass the first reading of an ordinance to allow red-light cameras.
Mayor Mitch O'Brien asked that the legislation be tabled. He said the cameras shouldn't be approved until a current project to install an Adaptive Control Software System is completed.
Last year, council approved spending approximately $250,000 to have an ACS system installed along Route 256 from state Route 204 to its intersection with Diley Road. About half of the system is in place; the project is slated for completion prior to summer.
As designed, the system operates in real time by adjusting traffic signals to accommodate changing traffic patterns, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Similar systems have been used locally in Gahanna as well as in Houston, Texas, and Bradenton, Fla.
O'Brien believes problems associated with motorists running red lights in the corridor are related to frustrations with traffic flow. Rather than installing red light cameras where 256 intersects with Tussing, Refugee and Diley/Grandview roads, as proposed, he wants to see what effect t he ACS system will have on local traffic.
''It's totally adaptive to traffic,'' he said. ''I'd like to see the ACS system installed and operational, and people get a chance to get used to it.''
That may not be until summer or fall. At this point, it's unclear if council will hold off that long.
In agreeing to table the red-light camera legislation, council president pro tempore Jeff Fix said the city couldn't move forward because it hasn't received a final contract from Redflex.
A draft contract proposes that Redflex would provide the cameras, install and maintain them. In exchange, the company would receive $50 from each red-light violation its cameras enforce, and the city would receive the balance of the $120 fines it currently imposes for such violations.
If approved, Pickerington would become the first central Ohio suburb to use red-light cameras. Currently, the cameras are used in 11 Ohio cities, including Columbus, where they are installed at 18 intersections.
Council puts brakes on red-light camera debate
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:49 AM
By NATE ELLIS
ThisWeek Staff Writer
The path to installing red-light cameras at intersections along state Route 256 hit a roadblock Tuesday night after a city official said current measures might improve traffic flow on the thoroughfare.
Pickerington City Council voted unanimously to table legislation to allow Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. to donate and maintain photo red-light enforcement equipment at three intersections along Route 256.
The move came after council voted 5-2 on Jan. 20 to pass the first reading of an ordinance to allow red-light cameras.
Mayor Mitch O'Brien asked that the legislation be tabled. He said the cameras shouldn't be approved until a current project to install an Adaptive Control Software System is completed.
Last year, council approved spending approximately $250,000 to have an ACS system installed along Route 256 from state Route 204 to its intersection with Diley Road. About half of the system is in place; the project is slated for completion prior to summer.
As designed, the system operates in real time by adjusting traffic signals to accommodate changing traffic patterns, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Similar systems have been used locally in Gahanna as well as in Houston, Texas, and Bradenton, Fla.
O'Brien believes problems associated with motorists running red lights in the corridor are related to frustrations with traffic flow. Rather than installing red light cameras where 256 intersects with Tussing, Refugee and Diley/Grandview roads, as proposed, he wants to see what effect t he ACS system will have on local traffic.
''It's totally adaptive to traffic,'' he said. ''I'd like to see the ACS system installed and operational, and people get a chance to get used to it.''
That may not be until summer or fall. At this point, it's unclear if council will hold off that long.
In agreeing to table the red-light camera legislation, council president pro tempore Jeff Fix said the city couldn't move forward because it hasn't received a final contract from Redflex.
A draft contract proposes that Redflex would provide the cameras, install and maintain them. In exchange, the company would receive $50 from each red-light violation its cameras enforce, and the city would receive the balance of the $120 fines it currently imposes for such violations.
If approved, Pickerington would become the first central Ohio suburb to use red-light cameras. Currently, the cameras are used in 11 Ohio cities, including Columbus, where they are installed at 18 intersections.
