Red Light Cameras Progress Report

In November 2006, the Mayor and Council accepted the recommendation of the Public Works Committee and the Public Safety Commission to install Red Light Traffic Cameras at four intersections on a one-year trial basis. Once installed, the responsibility for administration of the cameras system was placed on the police department. The cameras were approved to be installed at:

1. US 41 North (Bypass) & Shugart Road; (all three approaches)
2. Walnut Avenue (State Route 52) & Glenwood Avenue; (two approaches, East and West bound)
3. Walnut Avenue (State Route 52) & Airport Road; (two approaches, East and West bound)
4. Thornton Avenue & Waugh Street; (two approaches, North and South bound)

Due to paving and construction, all locations except Thornton Avenue & Waugh Street, which became operational July 10, 2007, are still pending installation. The decision was made to install the system at Thornton and Waugh first due to this reason. The table below indicates the number of violations to date for this location:

MONTH	SENT TO CITY	CITATIONS ISSUED	REJECTED	WARNINGS
JULY	434	0	0	434
AUGUST	884	577	34	273
SEPTEMBER	500	455	45	0
OCTOBER	429	378	51	0
NOVEMBER	223	206	17	0
TOTALS	2470	1616	147	707

• A police officer views each violation and only approves those that warrant a citation
• Although only one intersection is currently active, state law requires signage to be posted at the jurisdiction limits, and at each active camera location
• During 2007, traffic crashes in Daltonhave been reduced by 10%
• Between January and September, there were 10 crashes at the Thornton & Waugh intersection
• There have been NO accidents at Thornton & Waugh Street intersection since September, 2007
• Red Light violations at Thornton & Waugh Street intersection have decreased 75% since August 1, 2007
• The red light camera vendor, LaserCraft, Inc., has performed at or above expectations in terms of customer service

To properly evaluate the full costs and benefits of this system, it should be evaluated one year after all intersections are operational. The initial signs are very positive in terms of public safety.