I am a big fan of redflex and have backed up the truck. Bought some more with this dip. I'm looking forward to earning in the next couple of months. this is going to be great. check out this article on speed enforcement. wow.
Red light camera is boon for Marysville
By Daniel Thigpen/Appeal-Democrat
Chris Kaufman/Appeal-Democrat
People wait in the Marysville Police Department lobby this week to contest tickets they received from the photo-enforced traffic light at Third and F streets, the city's only red light camera. More than 2,000 tickets were issued in one month to drivers allegedly running red lights at the intersection. The tickets carry a $350 fine.
It's possible all those drivers running the traffic signal at Third and F streets could be helping Marysville out of its budget hole.
Although there are signs that the number of violators at the city's only red light camera system is dropping, the month of June might be a lucrative one for the city, which last week adopted a spending plan with a nearly $1 million deficit in its general fund.
As of Sunday, the intersection's new camera caught 2,033 drivers running the light, said Dennis Hauck, the Marysville Police Department's traffic officer. June is the first month citations have been issued.
By the time the city gets its share of each $350 ticket and pays back the company that operates the camera, that amounts to almost $275,000 the city can put toward its budget shortfall, assuming all of those tickets are paid.
Dixon Coulter, the city's administrative services manager, said that although any additional source of revenue is helpful, he stressed that the city would rather see people drive safer than help Marysville make a profit by breaking the law.
"It's not the kind of revenue stream that any prudent person would make future plans on," he said. "Our expectation is that (the number of violations) will fall off."
Chris Kaufman/Appeal-Democrat
Marysville police Officer Dennis Hauck motions for another person to enter his office to discuss their ticket received for allegedly violating traffic laws at the photo-enforced intersection at Third and F streets.
When a driver runs a red light at that intersection, the camera takes pictures of the car. The Police Department reviews all of the violations before a $350 citation is issued.
That fine is set by the state, and so is the distribution of that money between California, Yuba County and Marysville. The city sees about $138 of each ticket.
Under its contract with Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems, Marysville pays its share to the company for running the camera system - up to a maximum of $6,030 a month per intersection.
If the intersection doesn't produce that much revenue, the city pays a lesser
amount. That way, the project is cost-neutral for the city.
The $6,030 figure is calculated by estimating that, in the future, an intersection will see about 1.5 violations a day.
But on average, Third and F is yielding about 78 red-light-runners a day. That means extra money for the city when those tickets are paid.
The total number of violators, however, has dropped roughly 26 percent from the month of May, when the city tested the camera system and no citations were issued.
The vast majority of those drivers rolled through the intersection while making a right turn on a red signal, Hauck said.
Before cameras, the city is-sued 371 red light violations in all of 2003, Hauck said. He could not immediately provide 2004 data.
Maria Rodriguez, 33, who met with Hauck on Wednesday to contest her ticket, said enforcing so many right-on-red turns is ridiculous.
"It just seems like a technicality, like the city's trying to make money off of this," she said.
The city says that's not true. The intersection was identified as having the most red light violations in a study commissioned by the Police Department, Hauck said.
Mayor Bill Harris said the city simply wants to deter dangerous driving.
"(The intersection) wasn't picked as a revenue generator," Harris said. "When you get a ticket, hopefully you won't do it again."
City officials plan to set up four more cameras in Marysville, pending permission from Caltrans.
|
